


A Bond Mended

by AnneLilian



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Family, Gen, Original Character(s), Sibling Bonding, Siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2018-05-31 07:31:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 34,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6461377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnneLilian/pseuds/AnneLilian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone knew the Gods had a weakness for mortals, and everyone knew that often, that weakness would result in a child. But everyone also knew that the Big Three had sworn an oath not to father anymore mortal children. So when Percy suddenly learns he has a sister, everyone is thrown for a loop.<br/>Warning for minor swearing throughout the story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this ages ago on ff . net, and recently read over it again (cringing) and rewrote most of it.  
> I should probably also mention that I originally wrote this before House of Hades and Blood of Olympus came out, and thus I didn't know about the (SPOILER ALERT) ship-tease with Nico and Will. I kind of like those two together, but I couldn't find it in myself to find another love intrest for my OC.  
> This work is going to focus mainly on my OC and her relationship with (spoiler :p) her brother Percy. Yup, Poseidon had another kid.

** Chapter 1: **

_11 years ago_

He had been wronged, and so he’d come to her. Nemesis lazily looked him up and down. She wondered if he would be like the others, scrambling back as soon as he saw what his wish had done. Or perhaps he’d stay true to his wish. So precious few actually went through with their revenge, it was sickening to the Goddess. But no… this one was of the latter group, she surmised, as she studied his face, contorted in anger.

Although, she supposed it didn’t really matter, since Nemesis never backed down from vengeance. Even if the one who came to her begged to have her acts be undone.

“I believe I can think of a suitable punishment,” Nemesis said.

Her visitor merely nodded, and kept scowling. “He deserves it,” he ground out.

Smirking, Nemesis extended her hand. Yes… this was one of the ones who would stick by their revenge. And it was wonderful. Who knew he had it in him, especially with his parentage? “Then we have a deal.”

He eyed her hand for a moment, before curtly shaking it. A flash of light filled the room, and both knew that the agreement was now permanent. “I think you’ll notice when the act is done,” Nemesis said, getting on her motorcycle, already thinking of ways she could carry out her revenge. "Pleasure doing business with you." And then she rode off. She had a God to torment...

/*/

_Present day ~ 8 July ~ Early morning_

Percy was fairly sure he’d been having a nightmare. Once he woke up he could never be sure of the details, but he was certain he’d had that particular dream before. He remembered he was very young in the dream, maybe two or three and that someone had screamed. He remembered being terrified, but he had no idea why. It was frustrating, to say the least.

It was early July and he’d been at Camp nonstop since the end of their little adventure in the Sea of Monsters. He’d been plagued with nightmares ever since. It was weird, usually he’d either have prophetic dreams – as half-bloods sometimes did – or regular nightmares, but this didn’t feel like either. He couldn’t put his finger on it though, and decided that sleep was going to evade him for the rest of the night anyway, so he might as well do something useful.

Percy snuck out of his cabin – easy now that he was the only inhabitant again – and went out to the lake. Swimming always cleared his head, even though the naiads had the annoying habit of watching and giggling while he was still close to the shore. He waded in and willed his clothes to get wet. He could swim without that, but it made him feel better to get connected to the water properly. He swam past the water nymphs and into the deeper parts of Long Island Sound, diving until he was close to the bottom. He could breathe just fine down there, and the pressure didn’t bother him, so it was an ideal hiding place.

Percy shooed a few stray fish away while he settled on the sandy ground. Most of the sea creatures around here knew to leave him alone, but they were still curious. And terrible gossips, he was sure the naiads would hear everything from them come morning.

He had the strangest feeling about his dreams, like they were important somehow, but he couldn’t for the life of his figure out why, or what the hell they were about anyway…

“Percy?” A voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up. Before him stood a pretty girl, her hair floating on the water. She seemed to be suppressing a giggle, which didn’t really improve Percy’s mood.

“Yeah?” he answered the naiad.

She blushed. “There’s a girl on the beach, she was looking for you,” she said, looking like she had something else to say, but needed to get this out of the way first.

“Oh, okay, it’s probably Annabeth.” He couldn’t think of any other girl who’d want to talk to him in the middle of the night.

The naiad waved a hand impatiently, as if to say _does it matter?_ “You know,” she said as Percy got up. “You should come by more often. Mayim’s throwing a party Saturday, and we’d love for you to come,” she said self-importantly. That was the problem with naiads, they were nice and all, but they were also pretty vain and far too giggly for his tastes. He preferred more serious girls. At least they didn’t make him feel uncomfortable.

“Uhm…” he replied intelligently. “Not sure if I can, but I’ll try.” If he’d turned her down right away, he knew she wouldn’t have let him go – or, rather, she’d have tried to keep pestering him, and though he could outswim her easily, it wasn’t a bother he wanted to deal with – so he just lied and never showed up. If he wanted a whole bunch of squealing girls all around him, he’d visit the Aphrodite cabin.

“Okay,” she agreed, and Percy could tell that she knew he wasn’t going to come.

“Tell Mayim I’m sorry,” he said awkwardly, before willing the currents to take him to the beach.

When he got there, he couldn’t see anything, but he saw footprints leading onto the beach and not away from it, so he figured Annabeth was wearing her cap. Smart, considering the harpies would most likely either eat her or make her do chores if she was caught.

“Hey Annabeth,” he greeted, plopping down onto the sand next to her and reveling in the warm breeze against his wet skin.

“Why are you wet?” a disembodied voice next to him asked.

“He raised an eyebrow. “Helps me think. Why are _you_ still invisible?” he shot back gently, reminding her of the fact.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, pulling her cap off her head. Percy smiled at her, and turned back to the sea. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Percy knew that if Annabeth had something to say, pestering her wouldn’t help, she’d tell him in her own time. He’d been hit over the head plenty of times by the fiery blonde to know that, at least.

Annabeth sighed. “I had a nightmare,” she confessed finally. Percy regarded her curiously. Two strong demi-gods having nightmares on the same night was never a good sign. Though it could always be a coincidence, he supposed… He decided to just wait for her to explain.

“I can’t remember what it was about, exactly… I know you were in it, and you were upset, and there was someone else, a girl. I think… I think she was in trouble…”

“Do you think it was a demi-god?” he asked. Her nightmare probably had nothing to do with his own, but he couldn’t rule it out.

Annabeth frowned at the ocean, and Percy could imagine a million thoughts churning behind those stormy grey eyes, offering up new theories and dismissing them just as fast, drawing up a battle plan. “Yes,” she replied, finally. “She was definitely a demi-god. I think maybe we should try to find her.”

“Do you remember where you saw her?” he asked hesitantly. She’d said the dream wasn’t very clear, which often meant that it wasn’t a vision, but he couldn’t be sure. Either way, it wasn’t a good idea to argue with Annabeth. He’d follow her if she asked. Besides, they’d been through enough together to trust whatever the other person said. He’d probably believe her if she said she’d seen a flying pig.

The blonde finally looked at him then. “Yes. New York.”

/*/

_New York_

She had to run. There was no place for her where she’d come from, and she had no clue where she was headed. But she knew she had to run. Ducking into an alley, she hoped her pursuers would give up sooner rather than later. She was exhausted, she had nothing left, no energy, no strength.

Hiding behind a dumpster she hoped would mask her scent, she allowed herself a moment to breathe . She’d learned the hard way how they were tracking her. She knew she shouldn’t sleep, they’d find her, hunt her down, and she’d be vulnerable. But she couldn’t fight the exhaustion anymore, the drooping of her eyelids. She’d just rest her head, just for a moment, then…

A loud bang woke the young girl instantly, and she was up and running before she could fully comprehend what was going on. Stifling a groan, she turned a corner and kept going, though she could hear no one behind her anymore. She couldn’t risk sleeping, she had to keep going, had to keep running…

/*/

_Camp Half-Blood_

Telling Chiron about Annabeth’s dream was rather anticlimactic, as the centaur had already known about a rogue demi-god roaming the streets of New York.

“A satyr is on her trail, but she’s never in one place long enough for him to track her down,” he explained. “Perhaps it would be better if you two helped retrieve this one.”

Annabeth frowned, not having expected him to be so compliant. “May I ask, sir, why?”

Chiron looked thoughtful as he gazed out over the grassy fields of the Camp. “Well, for one, she’s older than most unclaimed demi-gods. Tiades – the satyr tracking her – suspects she’s about 13, if not older. For another… You know Luke is gathering more supporters every day,” he warned.

“And we’d rather he not get his hands on this one, we get it,” Percy said resolutely.

The centaur regarded him. “I feel that she will be important, somehow, especially if Annabeth is dreaming of her. If she’s as powerful as Tiades thinks she is…”

“Luke can’t get his hands on her,” Annabeth finished.

/*/

It was another half a day before they could leave Camp. They took a cab to Manhattan and met up with Tiades near Times Square. Even though they searched all day, all they found was a scrap of fabric behind a dumpster. Annabeth proved to be the most useful of the three, having lived on the streets herself, but even she could only do so much.

“We’re never going to find her this way,” Annabeth growled out in frustration as the trio walked into Central Park with their lunch.

Percy wanted to comfort her, but he had no clue what to say. Hey, it was true, how were they supposed to find a teenaged – BANG!

They all stopped and turned in the direction of the noise. The sun had just gone down and that probably meant the monsters were coming out to play.

Want to find a demi-god in New York city? Head for the nearest explosion.

Percy ran ahead, followed closely by Annabeth, with Tiades following in the back, limping due to his need to hide his hoofs. They ran all the way to a fountain that Percy couldn’t for the life of him remember having seen before. Then again, Central Park was pretty big. He’d have asked Annabeth about, if there hadn’t been a young girl desperately trying to fight off four monsters with her bare hands.

Percy charged in and managed to decapitate the first monster, not even stopping to see what it had been. He did register that the sound they’d heard was the fountain exploding. He vaguely wondered how the monsters had managed that one, but quickly dismissed the thought as he dodged a swing from one of the other Uglies he needed to kill.

Annabeth quickly engaged the third monster, but hadn’t managed to catch it by surprise, and it was putting up a hell of a fight.

Just as Percy reduced his second monster to dust, the girl screamed. He whirled around, only to see Tiades ninja-kicking some kind of snake-creature in the face. It spit something in retaliation, but Tiades was more than quick enough to evade it, now that he’d shed the fake shoes. The girl was crumpled to the ground, but was still moving, and Tiades seemed to have his monster under control. While Annabeth got rid of her own evil creature, Percy raced to the girl’s side and turned her over.

The first thing he did was catalogue her injuries – claw marks on her right leg, a head wound, a multitude of bruises and superficial scratches in all stages of healing, and a sticky substance covering her eyes, like a grotesque mask. The next thing he noted was her appearance: she looked like a younger copy of his mother.

In hindsight, it was probably a very good thing that Annabeth and Tiades were there, because Percy would probably have just kept staring. Annabeth worked to bind the unknown girl’s leg, while Tiades – having cut the snake’s head off – took out some nectar and started pouring drops of it down the girl’s throat.

Percy was shaken out of his stupor – which had thankfully only lasted about a second – when the satyr elbowed him. “Get that sticky stuff off of her face. The snake spit it at her, and I don’t like the look of it.”

Percy summoned water from the spraying fountain to clear the girl’s face, but he’d never tried to control such a small burst before. Somehow, he managed to pick the ‘mask’ off her face. It didn’t look good. The skin around her eyes was red and irritated, and when Percy pried open one of her eyes, it was more bloodshot than he’d ever seen before, and her pupils were huge.

“We need to get her back to camp,” Annabeth said, but she paused when she looked at the girl’s face. “Percy…” she whispered.

“I know,” he replied grimly, before getting up. “I’m summoning Blackjack, she needs to get to camp _now_. Can you two get back on your own?” he asked apologetically, dismissing the previous topic. Annabeth and Tiades nodded grimly.

Percy closed his eyes and concentrated on the black Pegasus. _‘Hey bud? Gonna need your help again. Hurry,’_ he urged mentally.

Annabeth finished binding the gash on the girl’s – he _really_ had to figure out her name – leg, and most of her smaller scratches seemed to have scabbed over if not healed completely, courtesy of the nectar.

“Jade,” Annabeth murmured as she knelt next to Percy.

“What?” he asked, confounded.

The blonde pointed at the girl’s neck. “Her necklace, it must be her name,” she explained. Sure enough, the girl was wearing a silver necklace bearing the name ‘Jade’ in swirly letters. It was a bit worse for wear, having been bent somewhat out of shape and being crusted with blood. Honestly, if Annabeth hadn’t mentioned it, he probably wouldn’t have been able to read it, he was having trouble as it was.

Flapping wings and a cheerful whinny interrupted Percy’s scrutiny. _‘Hey boss!’_ Blackjack greeted, even as he nuzzled Annabeth, probably searching for donuts.

Tiades helped get the unconscious girl – Jade, he corrected mentally – onto the Pegasus in front of Percy, while the latter explained the situation, briefly, to Blackjack.

Percy became aware of applause. He looked up, seeing countless tourists clapping and taking pictures. Whatever the Mist made them see, they thought it was some kind of show. Some were even throwing coins. He shook his head, it was better than people thinking he was a criminal.

Before long, they were ready to go. “Be careful,” Percy warned, looking at his best friend.

“You too, Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth replied softly, and stepped back so the winged horse could take off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mayim means 'water' in Hebrew, and Tiades comes from Miltiades, meaning 'red earth'. I figured those names were fitting :)  
> Please leave me a comment and tell me what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

** Chapter 2: **

_11 July ~ Camp Half-Blood_

She awoke slowly. Instinctively, she knew she wasn’t in her own bed, so instead of bolting upright and announcing her current state of wakefulness to the world, she took a deep breath and listened to her other senses.

She was lying on something soft, most likely a bed or a bunk or something, and the room smelled fresh, like she’d imagine summer smelled like: strawberries and salt water, and that particular tang that announces rain. She heard all sorts of things, too. She could hear buzzing; a fly or a bee that was trying to get out of the room, distantly, there was laughter and a sort of… clanging? She couldn’t imagine what that was, though. Closer by, she heard someone sigh, probably more out of boredom than actual malcontent, but it still set her on edge. Who was this person who was watching over her while she slept?

Jade thought back to the last she could remember but found her memories strangely fragmented. She recalled running away from home, remembered the first monster she’d come across, though not how she’d gotten away from it. She remembered getting cornered at a fountain in Central Park by four gruesome creatures. She’d fought them off as best as she could with no weapons but a stick, but she’d been hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned. Vaguely, she remembered a pulling sensation in her gut, and then one of the creatures had attacked, but then… Did she remember that right? She could’ve sworn a boy had jumped in the way and killed it with a single stroke of his sword. Who the hell carried around a sword anyway?

Things only got vaguer after that.

So someone had saved her. Presumably, this was the person who was now in the room with her, or maybe it was an adult. God, she hoped she wasn’t in a hospital of some kind, they’d only call _them_ , and she refused to go back to them. Realizing that she couldn’t do much else about her situation right now, Jade decided to make a show of waking up, and groaned.

She moved and the groan turned into a wince and a quiet yelp. Her leg and head throbbed like hell, and her eyes, though still closed, felt like someone had taken a hot poker to them. And that wasn’t even mentioning the general soreness of the rest of her body.

Footsteps hurried closer and the cool rim of a glass was pressed against her lips. “Drink, you’ll feel better,” a voice said. She didn’t really pay attention to it, but vaguely catalogued it as a boy’s voice.

The liquid tasted like nothing she’d ever had before. It was like Ben & Jerry’s cookie dough ice cream, but at the same time, it was pancakes from her favorite diner, and it was also diet Dr Pepper and that fizzy raspberry cider she’d tasted once. It brought to mind the best memories she had, memories of a time before…

She finally opened her eyes, despite the lingering pain – though most of it had lessened to a dull throb – and came face-to-face with a cute blonde boy.

Jade blinked a few times to get the fog out of her eyes, but, apparently, it couldn’t be helped. “Hi,” she croaked. She cleared my throat and tried again. “Hi.”

The boy grinned. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”

“What happened? How long was I out?” she asked, struggling to sit up. The boy helped her by putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her up. The contact made her a bit uncomfortable, but she bit my tongue. He was only trying to help.

“You slept for about three days. We were worried that you might not wake up anymore,” he said, sitting back down into a chair next to the bed. Jade took a minute to look around the room. It was a lot more spacious than she’d thought it would be, though her eyes were still annoyingly foggy. It held three beds on one side of the room – one of which she occupied – and four on the other, with those little curtains that you could close for privacy. We were in an infirmary. “Would’ve been a shame too, all that trouble we went through to get you here,” the boy went on.

She frowned at him. “Where is here?”

The boy grinned and was just about to answer when a dark-haired boy walked in. Jade stared. He looked strangely familiar, like he was an old friend she hadn’t seen in a few years, but, at the same time, she was certain she didn’t know him.

“You’re up,” he said with a smile. “Good, we were beginning to worry.” A blonde girl followed behind him. She seemed a lot less open than either of the boys, and she was looking at me with a calculating stare.

“Who are you? Any of you?” she asked suspiciously, looking from one to the other. If she’d been hurt, she should have been taken to a hospital, that’s what any normal person would do. But – though this looked like some kind of infirmary – this was no hospital. And where were the adults?

The blonde boy looked sheepish. “Oops, should have started with that, shouldn’t I? I’m Will, Will Solace, I’ve been making sure you’ve been healing.”

“So you’re like a nurse,” she deadpanned. The dark-haired boy snorted in amusement, and even the blonde girl cracked a small smile.

The blond – Will – spluttered. “What? No! I’m- I’m… more like a medical student,” he said eventually.

“So I was treated by a student? Now I feel so much better,” she said sarcastically, unable to keep a slight grin off my face. Seeing this guy flounder was pretty funny. Looking at him, though, he wasn’t nearly old enough to be a student, he looked to be about Jade’s age, maybe a year or so older. Where the hell had she ended up? And, more importantly, how was she going to get out?

“Well, I’m Percy and this is Annabeth. We got you out of that scrape back in Central Park,” the black-haired boy said. Maybe that’s why he looked familiar, then, she mused. She’d remembered someone crashing onto the scene before she’d blacked out.

“I guess I owe you thanks,” she said distractedly, rubbing the bridge of her nose. A headache was building behind her eyes and it was splitting her head open. She wished they’d draw the curtains or something…

“Are you alright?” the blonde boy – Will – asked, concern replacing the mock-affronted face he’d put on earlier.

“I’m fine,” she lied. “Just tired. So, where are we?” she asked, hoping to distract the teenagers. From the way none of them could sit quietly, she guessed they wanted to change the subject as much as she did.

“New York,” Percy said, smiling.

“I’m guessing you mean the state and not the city?” she replied dryly. This didn’t look, smell or sound anything like the Big Apple. She’d know, she’d spent the last… she didn’t even know how long, on its streets.

The blonde girl – Anna something? – rolled her eyes, and Jade got the feeling she did this a lot around Percy. She noticed that she couldn’t make out her eye color, though she was standing more than close enough. She remembered Percy’s were green, but she could barely tell the difference between his and Annabeth’s – _that_ was her name! – anymore. What was going on?

Jade realized that Annabeth had said something, and felt pretty stupid to have to ask her to repeat herself. “I’m sorry, what?”

Luckily, the blonde seemed to think Jade had just heard wrong. “It’s a camp for people like us, half-bloods, hence the name,” she said, sounding like she’d made this speech a few thousand times already.

“Half-blood?” Jade repeated, perhaps a little cynically. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate on the conversation, though, and she rubbed her forehead again, hoping the headache would just go away. And her eyes were really stinging now. The pain was starting to reach excruciating levels, even blotting out the soreness in the rest of my body. Jade closed her eyes to protect them from the light, but it only made her feel _marginally_ better.

“If you’re tired-” Will started, interrupting whatever it was that Annabeth had been about to say.

Jade waved a hand, even though she couldn’t see their faces anymore. “It’s fine, the light just bothers me a little,” she managed to say.

Will hummed. “Must be from the venom you got in your eyes. We’re still not sure what it was. I’ll tell Chiron,” he said, and must’ve headed out, judging from the hurried footsteps she heard. And who the hell was Chiron?

“Anyway,” Annabeth continued. “Camp Half-Blood is for people who are only half mortal.”

Jade peeked through her eyes to see if the other girl was serious. She was. “Half mortal, half what?” she asked cautiously.

Percy took over. “Let me just take a wild guess and say that you’re probably ADHD and dyslectic, you’ve never really fit in anywhere, and you’ve been kicked out of a lot of schools. How am I doing so far?”

Jade opened my eyes all the way to frown at him, even though that was mostly because of the light. “How do you know that?” she whispered. All those things were reasons _they_ hated her, the reasons she’d ran away.

“We’ve all been through the same things,” Annabeth said kindly _‘I doubt any of you have been through what I’ve had to live through,’_ she thought bitterly. _‘No one knows…’_ “You probably have one parent you’ve never met. Your remaining parent told you that they’d left or that they’d died,” Annabeth continued.

Now Jade frowned in confusion. “I know both of my parents, they both raised me,” she said.

Jade had to close her eyes against the lights again, but she could almost _feel_ the confusion radiating off of them. A silence followed. She wondered if they were silently conversing like my parents used to do.

“I hate to break it to you, Jade, but one or both of them aren’t your parents…” Percy said carefully.

Once again opening her eyes, Jade looked at them. She couldn’t tell what she was feeling through the tangle of emotions that burst into my chest. Betrayal, confusion, anger… hope.

But how could it be true? Her parents were dead. They’d died years ago in a boating accident. But… she was confused. Were they telling her that her parents – or at least one of them – was still alive? But no, they’d said that her parents weren’t her parents at all, but… well, there had been that discrepancy with her birth certificate…

Her breath came in gasps as realization set in. She didn’t care if these two kids were right, she could _choose_ to believe what they were telling her. If she still had a parent out there… she wouldn’t have to go back. Not ever!

She suddenly realized that she’d started crying at some point, and that Annabeth had put a comforting arm around her shoulder, but she was _happy_. She laughed through her tears, and was vaguely aware of the other teens in the room looking at her like she was crazy. Nothing new there.

She wiped away some of the tears – though her eyes burned – and accepted the tissue Annabeth offered. “I’m-” she started, but had to stop and take a breath before she could go on. “I live in foster care, and I hate my foster dad. To think that I won’t ever have to go back there, is… well, it’s comforting,” she admitted, sniffing.

“Foster care? What happened to your real parent?” Percy asked hesitantly.

Jade sniffed again, but managed to keep any more tears from falling. Her eyes were stinging enough as it was. Better close them for the time being. “My parents died in a boating accident when I was little. I always thought they were my real parents, but after they died, they found out that my birth certificate had been forged. My aunt and uncle refuse to take me in, so I ended up in foster care,” she explained. It was still a bit of a sore subject, since it had only happened 6 years ago, and getting rejected by family was never fun. “Anyway, I’ve been in 3 foster families, and this last one… let’s just say I didn’t like it there.” Understatement of the century, but they didn’t need to know that.

Before they could keep asking about it, though, Jade decided to change the subject. “So you said we were half-bloods, right?” she asked, leaning back against her pillows. Man, she was exhausted. “Half what, exactly?”

The two teens paused for a moment. “This camp was built for people like us, people who are half-mortal…” Annabeth said. “And half god.”

“ _That’s_ what you meant? Half god? I can’t be half-god, I’m not anything special, I’m just… me,” she trailed off, peering at them with eyes half-open. Seriously though, how could anyone be half god? How did that even work? And which god were they even talking about?

Percy sat on the edge of my bed. “Your ADHD is your battle reflexes, and your dyslexia is because your brain is hard-wired for ancient Greek. Once you’re here a while, it’ll start to make sense, I promise,” he said with a grin.

“Greek? Like Zeus and stuff?” she asked.

“Well, you’re probably not Zeus’s kid, but yeah,” Annabeth said.

Light hit her eyes, and she blinked, moaning at the increase of her headache. All this new information was frying her brain. Jade massaged her forehead again, but it didn’t help one bit.

“Jade, are you alright?” Percy asked.

She opened her mouth to answer when a feeling like a hot poker being pushed through her eye sockets overwhelmed her. She heard someone screaming, and felt hands pushing her back onto the bed. It took her a minute to realize that she’d been the one who’d screamed.

She was so glad when the darkness finally claimed her, that she never even wondered how they knew her name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed that! I'm taking a few liberties with... basically everything, but I do try to stay as close to canon as possible. The point of this fic is to show what happens at Camp when Percy is off adventuring. And to see what would happen if Percy had a sibling to protect :)  
> Leave me a comment and tell me what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

** Chapter 3: **

_12 July_

When she woke up, it was night. The room was pitch-black, and no matter how wide she opened her eyes, she could only see the vaguest of shapes. Jade figured it must’ve been a cloudy night, because there was no star- or moonlight filtering in. It was also uncomfortably warm, and she was thirsty. She sat up slowly, careful of her injuries, but she was glad to note most of the stiffness had faded while she’d was asleep. Thankfully, so had the worst of the headache. There was just a very dull throbbing behind her eyes now.

Someone else must’ve been in the room, because next thing she knew, a hand was on her shoulder. Jade jerked in surprise, but the hand held fast. “It’s just me,” a voice said. She recognized it as the blond boy’s, Will, and relaxed a smidge.

“Jeez, you must have perfect night vision, or this could’ve been embarrassing,” she half-joked.

A pause. “Why night vision?” Will asked carefully. It sounded like he had a suspicion, but didn’t want to voice it. That wasn’t good.

“Because it’s dark,” she replied, just as carefully. “I can’t see a thing in here. What time is it?” Jade asked curiously. She felt wide awake, but her sleeping schedule hadn’t been exactly normal since she’d come here, so it wasn’t that surprising that she’d woken up in the dead of night.

Will’s hand slid down to her elbow, squeezing gently. “It’s ten in the morning, Jade, it’s bright as day in here,” he said, sounding sad, but not surprised.

Jade, however, felt like the world have decided to tilt and not warn her. All her breath left her body. How could it be day? She couldn’t see a thing! The only way that was possible, was if… Suddenly, she remembered the piercing headaches she’d had, the way her vision had been blurry, and how much  the light had bothered her. “I’m… Am I blind?” she asked in a small voice. She knew the answer, but she needed to hear it out loud. She needed to hear someone say it.

The hand moved back to my shoulder and squeezed. “I’m so sorry.” He sounded like he really meant it, but Jade still felt like her world was crumbling.

She gasped and pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to stop the desperate sound from escaping, trying to hold back the tears, even though she knew it was futile. She felt like a baby, she’d lived through so much worse, she should be able to handle this. But as the reality of her situation pressed down on her, she couldn’t help it. When she’d woken up, she’d thought she was finally safe, that the monsters might finally leave her alone, but it seemed like it was her destiny to be forever on the bad side of fate.

It took her a few minutes to get the worst of it out of her system and to compose herself somewhat. “Is… is it permanent?” she managed to ask as she wiped away her tears, even as new ones kept coming.

Jade felt Will move slightly, though she had no idea if he was nodding or shaking his head. “We did everything we could, but Chiron said that if you hadn’t regained your sight by now…” he trailed off, but there was really no need to finish his sentence. It was permanent.

He sounded so morose, she felt like comforting him, even though _she_ was the one who’d just gotten bad news. The guy had been nothing but nice to her, nursing her back to health as best he could, and now he was probably feeling like a failure. She knew that feeling pretty well.

Swallowing thickly, she firmly ordered herself to stop crying. A few ragged breaths later and she’d managed to compose herself somewhat. “Tell me something,” she asked in a hoarse whisper.

The hand that had been rubbing her arm comfortingly, halted. “What?” Will asked, obviously confused.

“I can’t focus on this now. If I do… Just, distract me, tell me about yourself, who’s your godly parent?” Jade asked, desperate for anything else to think about. She was hoping contemplating the idea of real, live gods would do the trick. After all, the notion still sounded a bit fantastical to her.

“Uhm… Well, my dad’s Apollo…” he said, but trailed off, obviously unsure of how to go on.

“What about your mom?” she supplied, turning her head in his direction. “Any siblings?”

“My mom’s a cellist,” he started haltingly. “She’s a great musician, but she could never afford a good school, so she became a teacher instead. She lives in Queens and teaches at a high school there. It isn’t much, but it’s home. My mom never remarried, so I don’t have any siblings, but she’s dating someone. He seems cool,” he said, and Jade felt the bed dip slightly. She was grateful that he kept his arm around her shoulders, the contact helped her focus on the now, even though the constant darkness kept reminding her of her situation.

“You’re lucky,” she whispered. It was stupid of her to say anything, because she _really_ didn’t want to start talking about her own family – or lack thereof – but she couldn’t help herself. A small, tiny part of her wanted him to ask, even if she was going to have to deflect the question. She didn’t give him time to ask. “So Apollo, huh? So you’re, what, a good singer?” she teased weakly, wiping at her face again. It was still disorienting not to see anything, but at least she wasn’t feeling the crushing panic anymore. She didn’t know much about the Greek gods, but she remembered some connection between Apollo and music, and Will’ mom being a musician more or less confirmed that.

“Good? I’m amazing!” he mock-boasted. Jade could just imagine him puffing out his chest and laughed at the image. “Archery is also one of my dad’s gifts, and healing, though… I guess I wanted good enough, was I?” And now he sounded dejected again.

“It wasn’t your fault,” she assured him. “You want to blame someone, blame the stupid snake that did this to me. At least you healed all of my other injuries.” At least, she thought he did. She didn’t feel sore, and her leg felt a lot better, so the assumption was a reasonable one. Though she felt a blush rising on her cheeks when she thought about him examining her for other injuries.

Pushing the thought away, she focused on the squeeze he gave her shoulder. “Yeah, I guess… Though you’re going to have a scar on your leg,” he said.

Jade frowned. “Really?”  She remembered her leg throbbing, but she hadn’t thought it had been that bad.

“Yeah. Right here,” he said, took her hand, and put it on the newly forming scar. They were actually two thin lines, about 3 inches each, and they started low on her right thigh, tracing all the way down over her knee, to the outside of her leg. It would be really visible if she wore shorts or a skirt. She shivered. Those monsters had managed to leave a permanent souvenir.

Will’s hand vanished instantly from hers. “Are you cold?” he asked concernedly. It definitely hadn’t been the room temperature that had made her shiver, but, luckily, she was saved from explaining that little detail when someone else entered the room.

Jade could hear more than one set of footsteps and an odd noise she couldn’t quite place. “Good, you’re awake-” a rich male voice said, but cut himself off. Will jumped off the bed, and Jade thought he might have whispered something, or made a sign somehow, because the jovial atmosphere instantly changed. “Ah,” the unknown voice said.

“Is there nothing we can do?” a girl’s voice whispered, and Jade recognized that one; Annabeth.

She thought about pointing out that she could, in fact, hear them, but she figured she’d be the center of attention soon enough, and she didn’t want to speed up the process.

One set of footsteps came towards the bed, and she knew instantly who it was. “Hey,” Percy said. Jade was kind of glad he was there. For some reason, he made her feel safe, a feeling she hadn’t experienced overly much in the last 6 years.

“Hi,” she whispered back. She was really glad her tears had dried by now, she hated crying in front of people she didn’t know. She didn’t want the adult guy or Annabeth to think she was whiny. “Who’s that?” she asked, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the door. She hoped the guy was still somewhere over there, but there was really no alternative.

“Jade, this is Chiron, our activities director here at camp, he wanted to ask you a few questions,” Percy said gently. Jade nodded, even though it was still a little weird that this was a camp. She kept thinking about bunk beds and making friendship bracelets, and wondered how a camp for half-gods was different.

She heard the unidentifiable noise again, and then the voice, but a lot closer and lower to the ground than she’d expected. Maybe he’d sat down? “May I ask where you’re from?”

She frowned. It was kind of a weird question to start a conversation, but okay. “I grew up in Maine,” she replied carefully. That’s where she’d lived with her parents anyway.

“Were you born there?” Chiron asked. He had a nice voice, like he was a kind uncle or something, but without a face to match it to, it was a little hard to imagine what he looked like.

“Yes, in Lewiston, but I grew up in Portland.” And her parents really loved sailing, so Portland was a pretty good choice. Jade couldn’t help but think of their house, just a few minutes’ walk from the beach.

“Do you have any siblings?” he asked, still using that kind tone. It did actually set her at ease, so she settled back into her pillows. Still, it was a bit of a weird line of questioning, and privately, she wondered where he was going with this. “No,” she replied. Her parents had been unable to conceive after her.

“I imagine you’ve been through a great deal. Do you remember how you ended up in New York?”

“I took a greyhound,” she said, shrugging. She hadn’t been coming from Maine either, but he hadn’t asked about that.

“Why New York?”

“I wanted to go back to Portland. But once I was here, there were too many of those monsters, and I couldn’t find a way out of the city. Besides, I didn’t have that much of a plan,” she admitted. She had no idea why she’d volunteered that information, but she also figured that it couldn’t exactly hurt her. They already knew that she came from a foster family.

Before the guy could ask, Percy interceded. “She lived with a foster family,” he explained.

“In Pennsylvania,” Jade supplied, suppressing a yawn. Damn, she’d just woken up, why was she tired?

“Was anything guiding you here?” Chiron asked, still sounding kind and gentle. Okay, that was a really weird question, and there was no way she was going to admit that she’d been hearing voices.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she lied.

“You sure you didn’t hear something like a voice, Jade, telling you where to go?” Annabeth asked. “Sometimes the gods lead stray demigods to the vicinity of the camp so we can collect them more easily.”

That made her pause. The voice in her head had been a god? “I… Yeah, there was a voice. The night I ran away, I dreamt the route I’d take to New York. Didn’t realize there’d be so many monsters, though.”

“Usually there aren’t,” Chiron said. “You must be a strong demigod to attract them like that.”

Jade wasn’t sure how to answer that, so she kept quiet.

“Well, I’m sure your godly parent will claim you when he or she thinks the time is right. For now, we’re going to need to start your lessons.”

“Lessons?” she asked, completely confused. Wasn’t this a camp? Why were there lessons? And about what? She really hoped she didn’t have to take math classes again. Those seriously sucked.

“You’ll need to learn how to navigate the world in your current state, as well as how to at least marginally defend yourself,” Chiron said, and then went on to explain about the various lessons most campers got, and which ones Jade would have to take up. There weren’t a lot she could still take in her… current condition. No combat classes, no rock climbing, no kayaking, no archery…

Apparently, most campers stayed in cabins, depending on which parent they had, but Jade was going to have to stay in the Big House, which was apparently the place she was currently in. It was the main house of the camp, and the home of both Chiron, and the camp director, a guy named Mr. D. They made some allusions about the guy, but she couldn’t figure out who he was.

Will would keep taking care of her, which was a bit embarrassing. She’d wanted to say that she could take care of herself, but she couldn’t even find her bedside table by herself, let alone anything else. He was also appointed as her personal counsellor, whatever that meant.

Chiron himself would teach her to use a cane, read braille and all that other stuff blind people needed to know. Luckily, there was some magic that could make her learn a lot faster than normal.

Jade tried not to let all this new information overwhelm her, but she couldn’t help but feel a little helpless.

Chiron and Annabeth left soon after, but Percy and Will stayed behind. Perhaps they sensed her sullen mood, because they did their best to make her laugh and tried to make her feel about as comfortable as possible. They were both pretty cool guys, and she was grateful for their company. After a little while, she could even pretend that she was just resting her eyes, that she wasn’t really blind.

“So, any clues as to who your parent is?” Will asked curiously. He’d taken up residence on the foot of the bed, while Jade was curled up on the top. Percy sat in a chair next to them.

“Uhm,” she said, thinking it over. “I like to sing, but considering that it sounds like cats being tortured I’m thinking that’s a no on Apollo,” she joked.

Percy snorted. “You should hear Apollo’s poems. No offence dude, but your dad sucks,” Percy said to Will. “He’s a nice guy and all, but I’m thinking he became the god of music and poetry just because he had so much to learn.”

Will shrugged. “None taken. Not everyone in our cabin is a particularly good musician, you know.”

“So, have you got any other hobbies?” Percy asked.

“Not really. My parents used to take me sailing, but I haven’t been on a boat since I was six. And most foster families aren’t exactly the best environments to develop your talents.”

“There’s nothing you liked to do?” Will asked. I felt him shift, and I hope he wasn’t feeling sorry for me.

“Plenty, but nothing that has anything to do with Greek gods, I think. I liked to go swimming when I still lived in Portland, but not any more than I liked building sandcastles, so unless there’s a god of sand somewhere out there…” she joked half-heartedly.

Percy and Will didn’t answer right away, so she decided to ask a few questions of her own. “I don’t know that much about Greek gods though, what kinds of things did you guys get from your parent?” she asked curiously.

“Healing and archery are my talents, though not all Apollo kids get both, and not all in the same measure,” Will explained patiently casually.

“I’m a son of Poseidon, so anything water related comes easy to me. Swimming, sailing, surfing…” Percy said.

“I tried surfing once,” Will interjected. “I hated it, I nearly drowned.”

Percy burst out laughing, and Jade readily joined him. “Hey! It’s not funny,” Will protested half-heartedly.

“It kind of is, dude,” Percy said. “Surfing really isn’t that hard.” Silently, Jade agreed. She’d done it only once, when she was 6, but she’d loved it, and staying on the board had been a lot easier than she’d imagined.

“Easy for you to say, mister I-control-the-currents. You can’t even drown!” Will shot back.

Turning her face toward Percy – or where she guessed he was anyway – Jade grinned. “Really? How does that work?” she asked curiously. It had to be cool not to drown and to control the currents.

“I don’t know, I just do it. I don’t even get wet underwater, only if I focus on it,” Percy said, sounding sheepish.

“That’s so cool. I wish I was a daughter of Poseidon,” Jade sighed wistfully.

“Not very likely,” Will said. “The Big Three – that is Hades, Zeus and Poseidon – made a pact not to have any more kids after world war two. Percy sort of just happened.” Jade could just picture Will grinning at Percy and him scowling back.

“Well, there’s one other demigod like me. Her name’s Thalia Grace, she’s the daughter of Zeus,” Percy said, sounding a little grouchy.

“Well, I’m definitely not one of those, then. Any other suggestions?”

They speculated for most of the rest of the afternoon. Will had gotten Chiron’s permission to keep her company, and Percy was hiding out with them to avoid a child of Ares named Clarisse. Apparently she was going to pulverize him if she got her hands on him.

Eventually, though, Percy had to go to lunch, and Will left to go get her some food. Jade sank back down onto the bed, feeling exhausted but okay. She hadn’t had a nice time with friends like that in years. As her eyes drifted close, she hoped that every day here could be like that.


	4. Chapter 4

** Chapter 4: **

_21 July_

Over the next two weeks, Jade spent most of her time with Chiron, Will, and a daughter of Demeter called Katie Gardiner. She was really nice and helped her study up on Greek mythology and monsters. She was also the only girl Jade talked to with any regularity. Annabeth hadn’t come by since that first day, which was too bad, because she’d seemed really cool. Katie thought that Annabeth was mad at something and that’s why she didn’t come by anymore.

Percy still visited whenever he could. She was really grateful for his presence, because as much she was coming to love Will and Katie, it was nice to have some variety.

Jade hadn’t gone to the campfire yet, mostly because she didn’t really felt like she belonged there, and also because she was usually out like a light by that time. For some reason Chiron couldn’t figure out, she was always very tired. His most popular theory was that it was because she didn’t get enough exercise, and needed to build up her stamina again.

There was one other reason she didn’t want to go to the campfire or eat at the pavilion. She just didn’t want to face all the other campers just yet. Here they were, training with swords and bows, and scaling rock walls with lava and having canoe races. And here _she_ was, barely able to get out of her room without bumping into at least 2 pieces of furniture. At least she had her own private room now, and didn’t have to stay in the infirmary anymore.

She was learning how to use the cane, too. First only inside the house, but now she was allowed to go on walks as long as someone accompanied her. She still kept away from the main area of the camp, though.

Jade was beginning to lose hope that her godly parent would ever claim her, though Chiron tried to reassure her. He said that she probably hadn’t been claimed because she hadn’t gone to any gatherings yet. The gods, apparently, had a sense of spectacle, and most claimings had happened during dinner or campfires. Of course, there was always the possibility that her godly parent wasn’t one of the twelve Olympians, who were apparently the ones who were represented at the Camp.

“So, what happens to the kids of other gods?” she asked Katie curiously. They were sitting at the edge of the strawberry field, stealing some of the overripe fruit, while getting some much needed sunshine.

“Well, a lot of them never even realize their parentage, since they don’t have as much trouble with monsters and such as the kids of the stronger gods. But if they make it here, they’re put in the Hermes cabin and just… stay unclaimed,” Katie explained distractedly. She was supposed to be working in the field, but when Jade had asked if she should be doing something, she said she already was. Since her mom was Demeter, goddess of agriculture, Jade assumed it something magic.

“Why Hermes?”

“Because he’s the god of travelers. You should see that cabin, it’s bursting at the seams.” Her voice sounded a little more distant, probably because she’d turned away. “Anyway, I’m all done here, and it’s boiling. Want to go down to the lake?”

Jade nodded her consent and let Katie help her up. She’d gotten surprisingly good at walking with that cane, and listening to her surroundings in such a short amount of time. Grass made it a little more difficult though. Katie looped her arm through Jade’s to help. “Are you coming to the bonfire tomorrow night?” the other girl asked cautiously.

Jade sighed. Katie had asked her that almost every day, and she hated saying no to her new friend, but she felt incredibly awkward even thinking about it. Feeling the tension, Katie spoke up. “What are you so afraid of? We might be related to gods, but we don’t bite. No one cares that you can’t see, Jade,” Katie argued.

“I know, it’s just…” _‘It’s just what?’_ she asked herself. _‘What I’m afraid of isn’t the other campers, but what might happen if I go. Or what might_ not _happen.’_ Jade was terrified that if she went to the bonfire, she’d get claimed, and her whole life would change again. Or worse. What if she wasn’t claimed? What if she never would be? What god would want to claim a girl who was… broken?

“Hey, what’s going on in that head of yours?” Katie asked, pulling her from her reverie.

“Nothing… I just want to get used to all this before I… Just a few more days?” Jade asked. She stumbled as the grass under her feet suddenly turned to sand, but Katie was holding on to her arm firmly.

“We’re here,” Katie said, and Jade knew the other girl wasn’t going to push anymore. Jade wasted no time in toeing off her shoes, before letting Katie take her all the way up to the water. Putting her feet into the cold waves was so incredibly calming. It reminded her of her home in Portland. Her parents had loved sailing, and had taken Jade along more than a few times.

But with the happy memories also came that familiar sadness. She’d lost them. And when she’d needed it most, her aunt and uncle had refused her. In a way, knowing her parents weren’t her parents made her family’s rejection more understandable, but it still hurt.

“Hey, you okay?” Katie asked softly, rubbing her arm.

Jade turned her head to assure her friend she was fine when suddenly… she _saw_ something. What the hell? One minute, everything had been completely dark, and the next… it was like seeing the sparks over a bonfire, without the actual fire. And were they…? Yes, they were flying around, but not aimlessly. It was like she could see Katie’s silhouette, because of where the sparks were.

What the hell.

“Jade?” Katie asked, sounding concerned. And then Jade could actually _see_ Katie lift her free hand to her face, probably to tuck her hair behind her ears.

“I’m fine,” Jade said quickly. What else could she say? She had to figure out what this was first, had to know for sure if this wasn’t just a trick of the mind, or something.

“Maybe we should sit down?” Katie suggested hesitantly. “Or I could go get Will?”

Jade had to smile. Katie was a great friend, but she’d said a few times already that plants were so much easier to understand than humans. Sort of par for the course for a child of Demeter, she supposed.

“No, I’m okay, the cold water just startled me,” Jade lied easily. She couldn’t help but start to feel excited. Maybe… maybe she’d be able to take care of herself again. Or… maybe she’d get her vision back! But she couldn’t get too far ahead of herself. A few sparks did not a vision make. Or something like that.

Katie and Jade went to sit down on the sand, in the shade of some trees. As soon as her feet had left the water, Jade couldn’t see the sparks anymore. If she really focused, she could sort of see it again, but after it started to give her a headache, she stopped.

Maybe this weird vision was like a muscle. She probably had to exercise it before she could use it for an extended period of time. Suddenly, facing the other campers didn’t seem like such a daunting task anymore. Maybe if she could train this thing – she really needed some kind of name for it – she could actually sort of be a normal camper.

“Katie, do you mind if we walk back to the Big House the long way around? I want to get a feel for the camp itself,” she said as she stood up.

Katie didn’t answer right away, Jade guessed it was because she was surprised. “Sure, if you don’t mind.”

Jade shrugged. “I’m going to end up living there eventually, right? I might as well start to get to know it.”

/*/

_22 July_

The next day, Jade was sitting on the porch of the Big House, in full view of anyone who wanted to gawk. She understood their curiosity, but it could get sort of annoying, especially since she didn’t particularly liked being in the center of attention.

“People are starting to talk about you,” Will said cheerfully as he walked up to her.

She’d been practicing her Sight – as she now called it – and had sort of seen him coming. It was both wonderful and frustrating, the way it worked, but she was grateful for it nonetheless. She’d take what she could get.

Usually, she could see a vague outline of people, though she’d noticed that Percy was a little more defined than Katie or Will. Probably because he was a son of one of the Big Three, but she couldn’t be sure of that. Chiron, on the other hand, was fairly well-defined by the sparks. She could almost see his facial expressions if she concentrated. That’s also how she learned that the ‘Mr. D’ they’d been talking about wasn’t just a mortal, he was a god. He almost… shone when she used her Sight. So much so, that he didn’t even have to be in the same room for her to see the glow he gave off. And, after asking Percy when he’d come by the previous evening, she knew he was Dionysus, god of wine and parties. Bit of a weird choice for a camp director, she thought, but apparently, this was a punishment for chasing a nymph or something. Gods were weird like that.

“Jade? You just spaced out,” Will said, and Jade looked up, startled. She’d been so lost in thought… and her headache didn’t help. She could turn on her Sight for longer periods every time, but she usually still ended up with a headache.

“Sorry, just tired, I guess. I had a lesson with Chiron this morning. I’m learning how to read braille,” she explained, gesturing to the pages laying on her lap. “The one good thing about being blind is not having to worry about dyslexia anymore,” Jade said. “That’s what happens when you read with your fingers,” she joked waving her digits.

Will laughed. “At least you haven’t lost your sense of humor.”

Shrugging, Jade put her hands back on the page. “It’s actually kind of cool, but the letters are really hard to recognize. What are you doing here anyway? I thought you had stuff to do today?”

“I do,” Will admitted. Jade wished her head wasn’t killing her so much, because she really wanted to use her Sight right now. “But Katie told me you’ve been getting headaches, and I wanted to check on you.”

Jade smiled, feeling her cheeks warm up. “I’m okay, really. It’s just that Chiron’s magic tires me out, and I’ve probably been overdoing it a little too much lately. I promise I’ll take it easier from now on.”

Will still seemed skeptical, but nodded anyway. “Alright, if you say so.”

She heard him shift his weight, probably turning to leave. “Wait,” she said impulsively. Will paused, and Jade cursed herself, she wasn’t ready for this, but… would waiting really help? “I think… I think I might go to the campfire tonight,” she said hesitantly.

“Really? Jade, that’s great! Katie and I will come pick you up!” he said, sounding excited. It was infectious, and Jade found herself grinning. “I’ll see you at 7!” And then he was off, probably getting ready for an archery lesson or something.

“I’ll be here,” Jade said, even though he couldn’t hear her anymore. Nerves were bubbling up inside her, but she squashed them down mercilessly. It was a campfire, not a firing squad. She could do this… She hoped.

/*/

For the rest of the day, Jade hadn’t been able to focus on a single thing. The braille texts that Chiron had provided for her – which a guy named Argus had gotten from New York – weren’t holding her attention, and they were really hard to decipher, too.

One of the most annoying things about being blind, in her opinion, was that she got bored. Quickly. Jade used to doodle in her books at school when her attention drifted. She wasn’t any good, but it was fun, and she could pass the time like that. Or she watched TV at home, if her foster parents allowed it, or sometimes she’d bake cookies… Now, she couldn’t even stare out a window. She wished she still had her mp3 player, but she’d lost it shortly after running away.

Jade drummed her fingers against the wood of her chair and jiggled her foot. She was bored and her ADHD was playing up. Great. Katie was at the climbing wall with her cabin, and Will probably had archery practice or something, and she had no clue where Percy and Annabeth were.

Maybe she could go down to the lake. It wasn’t that far, and she was pretty sure she could remember the way. Jade grabbed her cane and set off down the hill, resolutely ignoring any whispers she may or may not have heard coming from the volleyball court.

By now, most of the campers had at least glimpsed her while either Katie or Will was guiding her around. Their curiosity was understandable – after all, who’d ever heard of a blind demi-god? – but it was also really annoying. She ignored it for the most part, but it didn’t help her already battered self-esteem.

Jade made sure to walk slowly. The terrain was a little uneven and without one of her friends there to help her navigate, it was even more difficult, but she made it eventually. There was a lot of noise coming from the lake, and she surmised that one or more cabins were kayaking – the only normal activity they did around here.

She couldn’t be sure, but she thought no one had really taken note of her just yet, so she carefully folded her cane and stepped into the water. Instantly, she felt more relaxed and less jittery. She used her Sight to look at her surroundings – she could use it with minimal headaches as long as she was standing in the lake, she’d noticed – and saw that Percy was one of the campers in the kayaks. Tucking her cane into her back pocket, she waded in a little further, enjoying the feeling of the water against her legs. She dug her toes into the muddy sand and just stood there, with her eyes closed, basking in the sun.

“Jade!” Ah, Percy had noticed her. She opened her eyes reflexively and watched as the dark-haired boy swam over to her, far faster than anyone else could.

“Hey, Percy,” she said once he’d reached her.

“What are you doing here, why isn’t Katie with you?” he asked worriedly. It was both sweet and kind of annoying. She’d been learning how to use her cane for weeks now, she wasn’t a baby who needed watching.

“I’m fine, and Katie’s at the climbing wall with her cabin. And before you ask, Will was busy too. I was bored. You can’t expect me to stay at the Big House all the time,” she replied irritably.

Percy held up his hands, even though he thought she couldn’t see it. “Okay, okay. I just don’t want you to get lost or hurt yourself or something, but if you say you’re okay, I believe you,” he said, and Jade relaxed slightly. Her headaches made her more irritable, and she realized that getting annoyed with Percy really wasn’t helpful.

“Look, I’m sorry–” she started to say, but was interrupted.

“Hey, Jackson, who’s your girlfriend?” someone shouted. It wasn’t a voice Jade was familiar with, and it came from the shore behind her. Focusing her Sight on the girl who had shouted, Jade couldn’t determine much, except that she was tall and somewhat bulky.

“Leave it, Clarisse,” Percy shouted back, his tone mildly annoyed.

“Oooh, touchy,” the girl – Clarisse – yelled.

“Who is that?” Jade asked Percy quietly. The girl had quite a loud voice, and they were attracting the attention of a lot of campers. Jade struggled not to squirm under the attention.

“Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares and head councilor for cabin 5,” he replied. He’d stepped closer to her, like he wanted to shield her somehow.

It was a bit odd being aware of everything around her again, and for a moment, she was disoriented, trying to focus on everyone around her all at once. A moment was all the distraction needed, though, as rough hands pushed her. Jade lost her balance and tumbled face first into the water.

Luckily, it was only a light push, so she resurfaced immediately, but her already frayed temper burst. Her hands were clenched and shaking with the effort of holding them by her side, even as Percy helped her up. But she paid him no mind, her sole focus was on the boy who had pushed her. She didn’t even know who he was, but as her anger rose like a tidal wave inside her, she felt a pull behind her belly button.

And then suddenly, just like that, exhaustion swept over her, and her anger left her. The only thing holding her up were Percy’s hands on her arms, and sheer force of will.

Jade allowed herself a moment to shake herself and take stock of what was going on around her. Almost the entire camp was silent, save for the sound of the climbing wall. The campers who had been kayaking, yelling, training… they’d all stopped. And they were staring at her. She was too tired to use her Sight, but she didn’t need it to know.

“Jade,” Percy whispered, his shock evident in his tone. Oh no. Had she done something?

“Not again,” the girl, Clarisse moaned, and Jade could hear people moving, the silence broken.

“What happened?” she asked Percy, managing to stand on her own again – well, sort of.

He hesitated, but kept a hand on her elbow, probably not trusting her not to fall over again. “You just got claimed,” he said gingerly.

What?

“What?” she asked. When…? How had that happened? Who was…?

“You’re a daughter of Poseidon,” Percy said, and suddenly his uncertainty made sense. He was her brother.


	5. Chapter 5

** Chapter 5: **

_22 July_

“I don’t understand,” Jade said. “I thought you said the Big Three couldn’t have any more kids?”

They were back at the Big House, sitting in the living room with Chiron and Mr. D. Percy and Jade were seated on the couch, while Chiron stood near the door. Mr. D had opted to stand near the fireplace. Neither of the adults had said much after Percy had announced that Jade was somehow a daughter of Poseidon.

“I didn’t say they couldn’t, they just promised they wouldn’t,” Percy said, a little bitterly.

Jade had to admit that she was a little hurt. It’s not like she’d been looking for a brother, but he seemed unreasonably angry at the prospect. It’s not like _she_ could help who her parents were.

“Poseidon wouldn’t have broken the oath lightly, Percy, let alone twice. Perhaps there is something about this we don’t know,” Chiron said mildly.

Mr. D. snorted. “In ancient times, my dear uncle had as many, if not more children than my father,” he said in a bored tone.

“But then who’s my mom?” Jade asked softly. “My adoptive parents… they couldn’t conceive. They always said that I was a miracle, but… it was my mom who couldn’t have kids. When you told me I was a demi-god, I thought maybe my dad had… but if Poseidon is my dad…” she said. She felt tears prickle at her eyes, but she stubbornly pushed them back.

A hand gently touched her elbow, and she knew it was Percy. Using her Sight was too painful with Mr. D. in the room, but she found that she was okay without it for now. “I’m sorry, Jade, we don’t know.”

“Either way, you have been claimed, and this puts you in danger,” Chiron said.

“Why?” Jade asked, how did finding out who her parent was put her in danger?

“There’s a prophesy,” Percy said, and then he hesitated.

“Percy,” Chiron said in a warning tone. What the hell was going on here?

“She has a right to know,” Percy said stubbornly. “How old are you, Jade?” he asked.

A bit confused at the non-sequitur, Jade blinked. “Uhm… I turn 13 at the end of August.”

There was a pause. Jade had no idea what Mr. D. was doing, but she could imagine Percy and Chiron staring at her in confusion. She just didn’t understand why it was confusing at all.

“That can’t be… My dad was still with my mom back then,” Percy said. _‘Our dad,’_ Jade thought. It was weird to think about it, but it was true. Percy was her brother.

“Well…” Jade said. “Maybe my parents didn’t know exactly when I’d been born?” she suggested. It made sense. If her birth mother had left her somewhere, or had died or something, her adoptive parents might not have known exactly when she’d been born. Although, they couldn’t have been that far off. She could be wrong, but Jade thought that at that age, a month made a lot of difference.

“Who cares?” Mr. D. sighed. “Jenny over there is blind, she couldn’t survive a day out there.”

Jade frowned. She’d never spoken directly with Mr. D., but she’d heard of his propensity of getting campers’ names wrong. And Will had told her that he was often rude and painfully direct. It still hurt though, to be told so bluntly that she was damaged goods. She’d never be as good a hero as anyone else.

“You’re saying her injury precludes her from being the child of the prophesy?” Chiron asked curiously. What the hell was in this prophesy anyway.

“Yes, I do. And even if it didn’t, Zeus’ girl is older,” Mr. D. said in an obviously dismissive tone.

“Perhaps we can discuss this later. I’m sure Jade would like to get settled in. Percy, you’ll show her the way?” Chiron said.

“Sure,” Percy said shortly, and got up from the couch. Jade followed a little hesitantly and unfolded her cane. She had a feeling this was going to be awkward, but she didn’t really know what to do about it, so she just followed Percy out the door.

They collected her stuff from her room and made their way down the hill. Whispers followed them all way to the cabins, but Jade did her best not to listen. She doubted anything they said was in any way flattering.

“So, this is my cabin. Or I guess it’s our cabin…” Percy said as we arrived. Jade still hadn’t used her Sight, and she’d gotten slightly turned around on her way there, so she had no clue exactly where she was. She was used to using the Big House as her point of orientation. She tried going over the mental map she had of the Camp, and retrace their steps, but it was useless. She’d just have to rely on her friends to get her around again.

She also wasn’t entirely sure what Percy was expecting her to do, or say. “Well, it _sounds_ great,” she said, just to fill the silence. She and Percy had always gotten along great, and now all of a sudden, she had no idea how to act around him anymore. Or why he was being so grouchy.

“Sorry. My bunk is on your left, and Tyson used the one next to that,” he explained. Jade remembered Percy mentioning his cyclops half-brother, and vaguely wondered if she’d be able to get along with him. After all, he was _her_ half-brother now, too.

“Cool.” Once again, it got awkward, and Jade had no clue how to make it better. She wished Katie or Will were here. Cautiously, she used her Sight to get a feel for the cabin, since Percy didn’t seem up to a tour.

The room stretched out before her, though the low ceiling made it feel more cozy, and smaller than it was. She figured she’d be able to touch it if she stood on one of the beds. There were six beds in all, 3 on the left and 3 on the right, each with a bedside table. Jade couldn’t see very many details, but she could see vague outlines of furniture. It was enough for het to get around. She put her bag with the few meager possessions she had on the first bed on the right, and stepped further into the room. There was a low wall next to the last bed on the right, behind which there were two couches, opposite of which were 2 closets. There was another door in the far wall, but Jade figured she could explore more later.

Feeling a headache build again, she shut down her Sight and used her cane to take a seat on her new bunk. “Percy?” she asked hesitantly. “Are you angry with me?”

She heard him sigh and then heard another bunk creak a little. “I’m… No, I’m not angry with you, it’s just… It was only a few weeks ago that I had to get used to having a half-brother, and… at the time, I thought dad was… it just all felt really unfair…” he trailed off.

A thought occurred to Jade, but she was afraid Percy would just shoot it down. But she _had_ to suggest it. “You know… there is a way we could find out more…”

The atmosphere in the cabin suddenly turned a little tenser. “What do you mean?”

Jade scooted over and turned her head to where she thought Percy was. “I mean that after my parents died, my uncle had all their stuff put in a storage unit. My mom kept a journal, and my dad kept documents of everything they did. I doubt my aunt or uncle would have thrown any of that stuff out.”

“You think it might say something about your true birthday? Or your birth mom?” Percy asked curiously.

Jade looked away. Truthfully, she just wanted to have something of her parents, and maybe to know why they never told her. Although, she had to admit that the possibility of finding her birth mother was exciting too.

“Were is this storage unit?” Percy asked. He sounded eager too.

“In Portland. I don’t have the exact address, but I remember the company name,” she replied, starting to fidget. The excitement was kicking her ADHD into high gear, and she couldn’t wait to actually get going and do something.

“You remembered the name after all these years?” Percy asked skeptically.

“It was a pretty self-evident name: Portland Self Storage. Plus, when it’s the one place that has your dead parents’ stuff, you tend to cling to any knowledge about it,” she said, self-consciously.

“Right… I’m sorry.” But Jade just shrugged. She didn’t want his pity, and it was a long time ago.

“So, are you in?” she asked instead.

“In? Jade, you can’t go, you’re…”

“Blind?” she asked. “I know, thanks. But we’re not going on a quest to a manticore lair or anything, just one state over to check out a storage unit. Piece of cake,” she said, far more confidently than she felt.

“The two of us kind of attract monsters, though. It’s bad enough when it’s just me and Annabeth, but… two kids of Poseidon?” Percy said gingerly.

Jade rolled her eyes. “And that’s why you’re here. You can stab them with your sword, and I’ll figure out how to get to the–”

When the door opened, Jade shut up immediately. She hadn’t even heard anyone coming their way, but then again, there was a lot of noise outside. She could hear whoever had come in breathing, so they’d probably run.

“What are you doing here?” Percy asked. He’d jumped up when the door opened whereas Jade had merely whirled around. Better reflexes, probably.

“I had to see for myself. Is she really a daughter of Poseidon?” It was a girl’s voice, and it didn’t sound happy.

“ _She_ is sitting right here. I’m blind, not deaf,” she snapped before she could help herself.

A pause. “Well, she has your temper,” the girl said to Percy. She sounded a little more amused than irritated, which was a good thing.

“What do want, Thalia?” Percy asked.

“Wait, Thalia? Like Zeus’s kid?” Jade asked impulsively. She peeked out with her Sight and saw that the girl was pretty bright, like Percy, but more… complete? She was stronger than Percy, she guessed, and probably older as well.

“Yeah, you got a problem with that?” Thalia snapped. Jade had a feeling it stemmed more from being reminded of who her dad was than just plain spite.

Jade made a face. “Considering who my dad is, obviously not,” she said.

The tense posture Thalia had suddenly deflated. “So, it’s true?” she asked, in a much kinder voice.

Shrugging, Jade turned to Percy – her brother, how weird was that? – and sighed. “Yeah.”

Thalia leaned against the door frame. “So is it also true you doused almost the entire camp?” she asked. She sounded like she was close to laughing out loud.

This time, Percy was the one who answered. “Yeah, that was pretty cool. The first time I used my powers at camp, I exploded the toilets right onto a couple of Ares’ kids,” he said, laughing at the memory.

“What? Really?” Jade asked. She’d had no idea.

“Yeah, funny how you both managed to drench Clarisse. She’s fuming, by the way, she’s vowed to end both of you,” Thalia said, plopping down next to Jade on the bed. Jade shut her Sight down as she felt the pressure build behind her eyes again.

“Served her right. If she hadn’t distracted me, that guy wouldn’t have been able to push me,” Jade grumbled. She knew that it hadn’t really been Clarisse’s fault, but it still bugged her. Percy probably wouldn’t have let that guy push her down if he’d have been paying attention.

“Pushing a blind kid? Real brave,” Thalia said in a disgusted tone. “Who was it? I think they need to meet Aegis.”

“It was Jarek. I don’t think he knew about Jade being…” Percy trailed off. Oh, like it was suddenly taboo to mention blindness? Jade rolled her eyes.

“Jerk did this?” Thalia asked, sounding angry. Jade had to grin at the guy’s nickname. His mom really hadn’t thought that name through, had she?

“Don’t worry, Jade already got him. I think he’ll be fishing seaweed out of his clothes for the next month. And the Naiads weren’t too happy with him either. In their eyes, it was his fault Jade got angry and emptied the lake,” Percy said.

The two girls both burst out laughing. Her revenge couldn’t have been better if Jade had actually planned it. “That’s hilarious!” Thalia managed to say. She shifted on the bed. “You know, I like. Better than kelp head over there anyway.”

Ignoring Percy protests, Thalia rose and walked out without another word. “Hey, Thalia, wait!” Jade called before she could stop herself. Zeus’s daughter stopped just outside the door. “Want to help us break into a storage unit?” Jade asked impulsively.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

"This is a bad plan," Thalia hissed. "When you asked me to help you rob a storage unit, I thought you had a proper plan of attack, other than just show up and wing it."

"I do have a plan," Jade whispered back indignantly. She was starting to see why Percy and Thalia didn't get along. "I'll go distract the night guard, and you two get into his office and look up which unit belongs to Madison and Richard Benson."

Percy groaned. "Would you two shut up? We still need to get past the fence and the cameras."

Jade had no idea how well protected this place actually was, but she doubted there was a camera on every corner. The worst part for her was that she couldn't use her Sight. She'd found out that once she left the Camp boundaries, her Sight didn't show her much of anything anymore. It was like walking around in a really thick fog with your eyes wide open. She could still see Percy and Thalia clearly, but that was about it. She was actually blind again.

"I'll take care of the cameras once we're in the security guy's office," Annabeth hissed.

Yeah, Annabeth was there too. Thalia had showed up at the Camp's border with the blonde in tow, and Percy had seemed happier for it, so Jade hadn't said anything. Thalia had gotten them all the way to Maine, where Jade had taken over to tell them where to go.

It was past 1 am now, and the guard – whom Jade could only barely see with her Sight – was just making his rounds. "Okay, describe the terrain to me, how do I get to the fence?" she asked. Annabeth provided a perfect description, and at Percy's whispered 'go', Jade was off.

She made a show of stumbling around, though the loose rocks and few bushes actually did make it difficult to walk. "Hello?" she called out. Suddenly, her cane hit something metallic, and she knew she was at the fence. "Is anyone there?" she called out again. Thalia had suggested she tried being all weepy, but Jade didn't trust her acting skills that much, so she'd gone with confused instead.

"Who's there?" the guard called out. With her Sight, Jade could see him passing out from behind something and walking towards her. "Hey, what are you…?" the man trailed off, probably realizing just what the cane meant.

"Excuse me, sir, could you tell me where I am? I lost my mom," she said, feeling the fence in front of her and leaning forward. The man held up his hand, and for a moment, the gesture confused Jade, until she realized that it must be a flashlight. Her eyes didn't respond in the slightest.

"Uhm. This is a storage facility, little girl, how'd you get here?" he asked, coming to a stop in front of her.

"I was walking with my mom, but then I think I took a wrong turn. I've been looking for her for hours. Do you know what time it is?"

"It's past one. Look, girl, let's get you to my office, we'll call your mom. Just follow the fence to your left," the man said kindly. Jade felt a little guilty for breaking in on his watch, but there really wasn't anything to it.

Jade made sure to progress slowly, stumbling every so often. The man remained patient and warned her of bushes and rocks. Under her hands, she felt the fence sway a little. The others must have been climbing it.

It took the better part of half an hour for Jade to make her way to the entrance. She really hoped the others had gotten out of the office already. She made sure to mention her brother, and that he was probably looking for her too. The plan was for Percy to come get her once they'd found what they were looking for in the storage unit. They were supposed to meet the others one street over.

Thalia had kept insisting that too much could go wrong. If the guy called the cops, for example, they'd find out that Jade was a runaway and they'd take her back to her foster family. Or worse, a group home.

But so far, so good. No one was left in the office when Jade and the guard entered. He made to go straight to the phone, and Jade panicked. The others were probably not ready yet! "Oh, please, sir, could I get something to drink? I haven't had anything since dinner, and I've been walking a lot," she lied.

The man patted her shoulder. "Of course. What's your name anyway?" he asked as he moved away from her.

"Jade, sir." Better be as polite as possible.

The man came back over and pressed something into her hand. A can. She hoped it was something she actually liked, she'd hate to open something and then have to throw it away. He chuckled. "No last name?"

 _Shit._ If she gave her real last name, there was a chance he'd recognize it from a missing person's poster or something. "Uhm… Jackson. Jade Jackson," she said quickly, and had to hide a grimace. It sounded a little too much like Janet Jackson for her tastes, and the alliteration wasn't making it better. She opened the can and took a deep gulp. Oh good, it was just a coke.

"You sure I shouldn't call the police?" the man asked, sounding concerned again.

"No, really, it's not necessary. I know my way around Portland, most of the time, so they probably assumed I'd gone somewhere familiar. And if I call my brother, he can come get me straight away," she assured him.

The man sighed. "If you say so." Jade took another drink so she wouldn't have to make that call right away. When she set it down, though, the man pressed a cordless phone in her hand. "Do you know the number?"

"Yeah, I had to learn it by heart," she replied, dialing a random number and pressing the hang up button. She didn't actually want to call someone, after all.

Holding the phone to her ear, she pretended to wait. How much time had passed since she'd first drawn the guard's attention? 45 minutes? And hour? Probably not that long, but she still hoped it was enough for her friends to find the unit and get what they needed.

After enough time had passed, Jade had a conversation with herself, pretending to be _so_ glad to get a hold of her brother, and passing along where she was. She told the guard that her brother Percy would be there as soon as possible.

They set in to wait, Jade drinking her coke, and the guard seated on a chair in front of her. The monitors for the cameras were humming away behind the man, and Jade hoped that her friends weren't visible on them.

They passed the time with small talk that got progressively more awkward as neither of them really knew what to say. "You should really get yourself one of those guide dogs," the guard commented.

Jade doubted that Chiron would appreciate having a dog at Camp, but it _would_ be nice to–

The sound of a buzzer interrupted Jade's thoughts. _Finally!_

The guard got up and walked to the door, instructing Jade to remain where she was. About half a minute later, he returned, an out of breath Percy in his wake. "Jade, there you are!" he said, a touch too dramatically.

Jade got up and hugged him. "I'm sorry. Is mom okay?" she asked, for appearances sake.

"Yeah, she'll be fine. Come one, let's get you home," Percy said, putting an arm around Jade's shoulders. She had to admit that this brotherly behavior was nice, even if it was just an act.

"You'll be okay?" the guard asked as he saw them to the gate.

"Yeah. I'm sorry to have disturbed you," Jade said, a little of her guilt finding its way into her voice.

"That's okay. You're lucky you have such a nice brother looking out for you," he replied.

Jade leaned her head on Percy's shoulder briefly. "Yeah. It's nice."

And then they got out of there, before the guard realized what they'd done.

/*/

"Come on," Percy said, as they walked away from the compound. "The others are waiting a couple blocks over."

He'd dropped his arm the moment they'd stepped outside, and Jade hated to admit it, but she missed the contact. The only siblings she'd ever known were her foster siblings, and there was only one she'd really gotten along with. Percy kind of reminded her of him.

"Did you find anything?" she asked curiously.

"We found your mom's journals, like you said, and… your adoption records," he said, a little hesitantly.

She nodded. Maybe now she'd finally get some answers. "And… that other thing I asked about?"

There was a pause, before Percy grabbed Jade's free hand and dropped something into it. It was a gold seashell medallion her mother used to wear. Her father had given it to her when they'd gone on their first sailing trip together. Jade ran her hand over the inscription on the back. She couldn't recall exactly what it said, but it didn't matter. She put the chain around her neck, and felt the pendant settle comfortably against her heart.

"I wish we could ask Poseidon about all this," she said, a little wistfully.

Percy snorted, and lightly grabbed her arm, leading her around a streetlight that she could have avoided by herself. "The Gods aren't exactly good at communicating with their kids."

"Have you met him?" she found herself asking. She was curious. She wanted to know what he was like, what he looked like, what his voice sounded like.

"Once, on Olympus, after I returned Zeus' Master Bolt," he said.

"I'm sorry, what? You went to Olympus? Like, in Greece?" she asked, incredulous. She was so confused. This whole Greek myths being real thing was still new to her, after all.

"Right, I haven't told you about that, have I? It was my first quest, soon after I'd first gotten to Camp Half-Blood." He proceeded to tell her the cliff-notes version of how he'd been accused of being the lightning thief, and how he basically saved the world.

"Wow, I'm impressed. You're a pretty cool big brother to have," she said, and then wished she hadn't when an awkward silence fell. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay. I have to get used to it at some point, right?" Not for the first time, Jade really wished she could see his face. It was a lot harder to talk to people when you couldn't judge their body language.

"Will you?" she asked. "Get used to it, I mean." She was feeling nervous, which was completely stupid, but she couldn't help it. She'd never had a real brother before, and she couldn't help but wish that they could be closer.

"It's just weird. I only found out about Tyson a little while ago, and I was pissed at dad for doing that to me, and now…" He sighed. "I just don't know how to feel. I mean, you're cool, and I like you, it's just…"

Jade shrugged. "It's okay, I get it. Maybe we'll find out something more in my mom's journal."

/*/

The others were waiting exactly where Percy said they were. Jade could see them a block away, their Sparks bright as always. _I really need to find a better name for those, preferably something less… cliché…_ she thought to herself.

"You okay?" Annabeth asked. Jade couldn't tell who she was looking at, so she let Percy answer. Suddenly, she shivered. But it wasn't cold, even way up here in Maine. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her Sight. Something was moving behind them, coming closer fast.

She spun around. "Guys!" She had interrupted Percy saying something to the others, but she didn't care. Whatever it was crawled closer, and suddenly, she realized that it wasn't just one monster; there were dozens of creatures, about the size of her hand, all coming towards them.

"Pit scorpions!" Annabeth shouted. Someone pulled Jade back, but she couldn't tell who. The others all had their weapons out now, and were forming a wall in front of her.

"Don't let them sting you!" Percy shouted as one of the creatures leapt up. Suddenly, the sparks – angry red ones, as opposed to the golden ones in her friends – dissipated, and Jade guessed that meant that the creature was dead.

"No shit, Sherlock, I would never have thought of that myself!" Thalia shouted back. A few more sparks vanished, but Jade couldn't make out exactly what was happening.

 _We need to get out of here, fast!_ she thought, looking around furiously. She didn't have a weapon, wouldn't know what to do with it, and her friends couldn't think about her while they fought those – what were they called again? Scorpion something?

As she tried to keep herself from panicking, she noticed two of the critters sneaking up on Percy from the side. He was focused on the bulk of the monsters in front of him and Thalia and Annabeth had their own opponents to deal with, so when the two scorpions jumped, no one but Jade saw. "No!" She shouted, throwing out her arm. She felt a tugging sensation in the pit of her stomach, and suddenly, the scorpions' sparks dissipated. _Water,_ she thought. There was water here.

"Whoa!" Percy said. Jade thought that he'd turned around to face her, but she couldn't be sure. She could feel a headache building again. A glance towards the others showed that Annabeth had just swiped the last of the scorpions with her dagger. They must've killed at least half a dozen each.

"How did you do that?" Thalia asked, incredulously. "And how did you know they were coming?"

Jade shrugged. "I'm a daughter of Poseidon," she said, like that explained everything.

"What in Hades is that supposed to mean? Just because you can control water, doesn't mean you can aim! You're blind!" Thalia snapped. Jade flinched, shouting did nothing to help her headache – which was still building – so she shut down her Sight.

A howl in the distance interrupted the argument. "More monsters are coming," Annabeth said. "You three are attracting too much attention, especially after Jade's trick with the water."

"Why us three?" Jade asked, a little hurt. The least someone could do was thank her. Instead, they were all getting angry with her.

"Children of the Big Three tend to attract more monsters than anyone else," Percy explained. "I'll call Blackjack and ask if he can take us back to Camp."

"We'll keep watch," Annabeth said. Jade just hoped they didn't have to ward off anymore critters before whoever Blackjack was got there…


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little shorter than my usual, but at least it doesn't end on a cliffhanger, right?   
> Btw, I made a drawing in Paint of cabin 3, anyone who's interested, can find it with this link: http:// anne-lilian . deviantart . com / art / Cabin-3-610835534  
> Just remove all the spaces.

** Chapter 7: **

_22 July ~ somewhere between Maine and New York_

Apparently, Blackjack was a Pegasus. As in, a winged horse.

The flight back home was pretty tense. Percy’s winged friend had taken two other Pegasi with him to take them back. Jade was pretty surprised when she could actually _hear_ them in her mind, but Percy explained that was normal for a child of Poseidon.

 _‘You okay, little boss?’_ Jade smiled. She really liked Blackjack. Him and Percy had some kind of bond that she didn’t quite understand, but the Pegasus had become kind of excited when he met her. They all had, actually.

She was riding one of the other flying horses with Thalia, since the other girl had insisted that Jade shouldn’t fly by herself. But judging from the death grip the daughter of Zeus had on her, she was fairly certain that she just hadn’t wanted to fly alone. “I’m okay, Blackjack. As long as Spiro here doesn’t drop me,” she joked.

The horse underneath her let out an affronted snort. _‘I would never drop a daughter of the Sea Lord,’_ he protested mentally.

Jade laughed and patted him on the neck. “I’m sorry, Spiro, I know you wouldn’t.” Thalia just tightened her grip on Jade’s waist. Seriously, wasn’t she supposed to be the daughter of Zeus? Wasn’t the air like, his domain? Why was she scared?

“Hey, you think anyone noticed we were gone?” Percy asked, shouting to be heard over the wind.

“I know my siblings did, but they’d cover for me for as long as they could,” Annabeth shouted back over the wind.

“Well, the rest of us don’t have bunkmates to cover for us, so how about we hurry up?” Percy said, directing that last comment to the Pegasi.

 _‘You got it, boss!’_ Blackjack answered. Jade didn’t really feel a huge difference, but Thalia was now attempting to squeeze her to death, so she figured they’d sped up.

Jade had had her Sight on constantly since they’d left Camp, which hadn’t helped much against the scorpions, but now she could definitely see something again. In the distance, a golden dome got closer and closer, and Jade figured that it had to be the barrier around the Camp. They were almost home.

That thought startled her. Home. She hadn’t had a home since she’s lost her parents, and she wasn’t even sure when she’d started to call the Camp home… She smiled to herself. Maybe she could get used to this whole Half-Blood thing…

/*/

With an unspoken agreement, they all gathered in Cabin 3 in the pre-dawn light. Annabeth and Thalia were sitting on Tyson’s bed, while Percy and Jade curled up on their own bunks. As soon as they’d made themselves comfortable, Jade had switched off her Sight. It was weird, but she couldn’t see the protective dome from the inside, presumably because the magic only worked one way. She was grateful though; staring at that thing had given her a headache.

“So, we found your mom’s diaries, but I don’t think we’re going to have enough time to read the whole thing,” Percy said. Jade was about to protest that no one should read those except her, but… with a pang, she remembered that she couldn’t.

“There was also a folder with your name on it, so we grabbed that,” Annabeth said, sounding hesitant. “It had some adoption papers, and… a police report.”

“What?” Jade asked, confused. As far as she knew, her parents had never been arrested or anything like that, so why would they have a police report? And why was it with her adoption papers?

There was some rustling of papers, before Thalia spoke up. “It says here that your mom and dad found a baby of about a year old in the bathroom of a truck stop in Maine. When social services couldn’t immediately find an emergency home, Madison and Richard offered to take her. Or, you, I guess. They started the adoption process a month later.”

Something inside Jade twisted. “So… whoever my mom was, she just left me in a bathroom somewhere?” Tears welled up behind her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She was _not_ going to cry for someone who abandoned her, someone she didn’t even know.

She heard the sound of a bed creaking and then felt the mattress of her own bed dip. “Jade… I’m so sorry…” Annabeth whispered, putting an arm around her shoulders.

Percy and Thalia didn’t say anything, but Jade could practically _feel_ the compassion radiating off Percy. Her brother.

Thalia cleared her throat, clearly uncomfortable. “Uhm, the police never found out anything about who left you there. No one saw anything, and there was no trace evidence in the bathroom pertinent to the case,” she said. Like that would make her feel better.

Something occurred to her, then. “I don’t even know my name,” she whispered. “I was a year old, I must’ve had a name, right?”

The others shifted uncomfortably. “I’m so sorry, Jade,” Annabeth repeated.

A tear did fall, followed by a dozen more. “She didn’t even leave a note, or anything with my name on it. Who does that?” Did she not want me? Was she that repulsed by the baby she’d given birth to? But then, why keep her a year and only then get rid of her? Or maybe something had happened to her mother, and she’d had no choice?

“Hey, look at it this way; your parents were the ones who named you,” Percy said.

It was such an odd thing to say, it momentarily shook Jade from her shock. “What? What do you mean?”

There was a short, slightly awkward pause. “You know… Your parents – Richard and Madison – they were the ones who named you, not some unnamed woman you don’t know. They were your _real_ parents, even if they weren’t biologically speaking.”

Jade sniffed and wiped at her tears. “That actually helps… When did you get all insightful and stuff?” she joked lamely.

Percy chuckled. “Don’t get used to it. Usually I’m the one saying the dumb stuff,” he said, and it surprised a laugh out of her.

“I hate to leave like this, but it’s dawn, and Thalia and I should really be in our own cabins,” Annabeth said. “We’ll talk some more at lunch, okay?” she said, squeezing Jade’s shoulder gently.

“Yeah, okay. Be careful,” Jade replied as the two other girls slipped out. Thalia didn’t offer a goodbye, but Jade had a feeling that if she’d been able to see, the daughter of Zeus would have shot her a smile.

“We should probably turn in,” Percy said. “We might even get a whole hour of sleep.”

Jade snorted, but kicked off her shoes and snuggled under the covers, not bothering to change her clothes. It’s not like she had pyjamas aside from an XL Camp Half-Blood t-shirt anyway.

Despite her inner turmoil, Jade was so exhausted it only took her a few minutes to fall asleep. But her dreams were far from peaceful. They were filled with pit scorpions, gods, and a faceless woman who kept reaching for her. But no matter how fast Jade ran, she couldn’t reach her.

/*/

_23 July_

When she woke up, the sound of a busy Camp floated in through the windows, and the cabin was warm, almost like… Jade sat up suddenly. Was that sunlight?

Her head was still pounding, so she figured using her Sight probably wasn’t a good idea. “Percy?” she called out, but there was no answer. There was a nightstand next to her bad, she knew, and she reached for it, looking for her cane. Maybe Percy was in the bathroom?

She’d never been in there, but she knew the door was at the far end of the room, opposite the front door. She managed to get to it, only stumbling over a discarded shirt once. She was about to open the door when she heard someone call her name. “Jade?”

Turning to the door, she waved. “I was just looking for you. What time is it?” she asked, wandering back over.

“It’s noon, I was about to come get you for lunch. How long have you been up?” Percy asked.

Jade was certain he was standing in the open doorway, since the noise from the outside had increased a little, and she hadn’t heard the door close. It still amazed her sometimes how much she could actually take in, even without her sight. “Not long,” she replied. “Why didn’t you wake me? Was Chiron angry?”

Gently putting a hand on her elbow, he guided her outside. “Nah, I told him you needed to get used to the cabin, and that yesterday tired you out.”

“I can’t believe you actually managed to get up. Without waking me,” she muttered. She had been a light sleeper for as long as she could remember, but here at Camp Half-Blood… She’d called it her home just the day before, and she was starting to realize that it really had been true.

Percy didn’t reply. Just as they stepped up to the pavilion, the conch shell sounded, and they sat down at a table. This was the first time she’d actually had a meal with the other campers, and – as they filed in – she could feel their stares.

“Everyone’s looking at me, aren’t they?” she whispered to Percy. He was seated across from her, so her back was to the rest of the pavilion. She guessed it was so that she didn’t have to face anyone, but it was kind of pointless, since she couldn’t see them anyway. Sweet, but pointless.

“Annabeth and Thalia are going to meet us after lunch,” Percy said, avoiding the question.

She knew everyone sat at a table with their cabin mates, so Percy and her were the only ones at their table, and Thalia was probably sitting by herself at the Zeus table. As she picked up her cup and willed it to fill with Dr Pepper, she wished Will could sit with them. She hadn’t seen him since their short chat the day before – Gods, had it only been a day? – and she wanted to talk to him. Plus, he always managed to dispel any kind of tension or awkwardness, and Jade had that in spades right now.

Percy didn’t really talk during lunch, though he did help her get her plate over to the brazier so she could offer some of her food to the Gods. It was a little weird, but when she got a whiff of the fire, she understood why the Gods liked it. It didn’t smell burned or gross, but like every kind of food she’d ever liked.

When lunch was finally over, they waited for Annabeth and Thalia to head over, but before they could, someone else sat down next to Jade. “Hey, I heard you got claimed,” Will said, sounding excited. “Poseidon, that’s awesome!”

“Yeah, congratulations,” Katie said, slipping into the seat on Jade’s other side.

“Thanks, guys,” Jade replied, grinning.

“I saw what did with the lake, it was epic!” Will said, elbowing her gently. “I mean, none of us even considered Poseidon as your dad, but it kind of fits. You told me you liked to swim and sail, remember?”

“You remembered that?” she asked. She could feel herself blushing, so she busied herself with braiding her hair.

“You know, with your hair back like that, you two look scarily alike,” Katie commented.

Percy sputtered. “We do not!” he protested, and Jade made a conscious effort not to be insulted.

“Percy, no offence, but you’re siblings, there’s bound to be some kind of similarity,” Annabeth offered. Jade wasn’t entirely sure when the blonde had joined them, but she was glad she was there. “I mean, I look like my siblings. On the godly side, I mean.”

“Who cares?” Thalia said, and Jade could clearly hear her heavy footfall on the stone floor. Considering she had been completely silent the previous night, Jade knew she was doing it on purpose. “Look don’t you two have something to do? Like javelin training?”

Katie tensed at her side. “Trying to get rid of us, Grace?” Will said, but there was an easy-going, teasing tone to his voice.

“Sure am, Solace, so buzz off,” Thalia shot back, but she sounded more amused than angry. “Go write a haiku, or something.”

Will immediately jumped up, and Jade let her head sink into her hands. Thalia had really done it this time. He cleared his throat grandly. “Grey clouds in the sky, wherefore art thou so angry? Zeus’s daughter sighs.” He paused for a moment, and Jade was fairly certain he’d just taken a bow. “I can do another one if you like?” he said, enthusiastically.

Thalia groaned. “Forget I said anything. You’re even more horrible than your dad.”

“That said, we actually do need to get going,” Katie said, much more mildly. “I’ll talk to you later, okay, Jade?”

She must’ve pulled Will along with her, because he didn’t offer a protest.

“So… I guess we should talk,” Annabeth said.

Why did that sound so ominous?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a short chapter, and way, way, waaaaaay overdue, I know... I'm really sorry about that!  
> I've entered this fic for NaNoWriMo, though, so I'm hoping updates will come more regularly.  
> Read and review!

**Chapter 8:**

They figured they probably shouldn’t talk out in the open like that, so they all trooped to Cabin 3 again. Jade did suggest the Zeus Cabin, but Thalia seemed a little uncomfortable with that. It didn’t seem like she felt very much at home there, and Jade couldn’t blame her. She lived there all by herself, and Jade just couldn’t imaging a cabin dedicated to Zeus to be all that cosy.

Jade plopped down on her own bed again, and Percy did the same, but this time, Thalia joined Jade. She wasn’t sure what brought it along, but she didn’t really mind. Thalia was nice, no matter how much she and Percy annoyed each other.

“So…” Jade started, a little awkwardly.

“Like I said, we should talk,” Annabeth said. She sounded like she was sitting on Tyson’s bed again. Or maybe she was sitting on Percy’s bed, it was kind of hard to tell.

“About what? I thought we discussed everything last night?” Thalia said, laying down. Jade felt a little guilty, realising that she was probably the only one there who had gotten a decent night’s sleep.

“I still want to know how Jade managed to defeat those scorpions,” Annabeth said.

There was a pause, the tension in the room going up. “Yeah, how _did_ you do that?” Percy asked curiously. “I mean, I’m grateful and all, but…”

Jade bit her lip. She could lie and say that she didn’t know, or that it had been instinct – which it had been, sort of – but… she didn’t want to lie to her friends. Not anymore. “I.. I could see them…” she admitted in a small voice.

Another loaded pause. “What?” Thalia asked incredulously, sitting up.

“You got your sight back?” Annabeth asked.

Jade was already shaking her head before Annabeth finished her question. “No, I’m still blind, but… I sort of… I can see _something_. I think it’s magic of some sort,” she tried to explain.

“I don’t get it. You’re still blind, but you can see stuff?” Percy asked, confused. Yeah, it confused the hell out of her too.

“No, it’s more… I can see sparks, for lack of a better word. But not everything has sparks. As near as I can tell, everything that’s magic has sparks, the more magic, the more sparks. Percy, you’re brighter than Annabeth, but she’s brighter than Katie. I can also see Chiron’s wheelchair, it’s almost blinding. And I have to shut it off if I’m in the same room as Mr. D.”

“You can shut it off?” Annabeth asked. You could almost hear the cogs turning in her head.

“Yeah, and it’s a good thing too. It gives me a headache if I use it too much. And… outside the Camp, I can’t really see much, so I don’t get as much of a headache, but in here… I think the dome sort of lights up everything else, because I can make out shapes when I use my Sight,” Jade explained. This was going a lot better than she’d expected.

“The dome? What dome?” Thalia wondered.

“The protective barrier. I can’t see it when I’m inside it, but it looks like a huge golden dome from the outside. I think it’s because the magic only works one way; it keeps monsters out, not in,” Jade said.

Annabeth stood up. “We should tell Chiron about this. I’ve never heard of anything like this.”

“We’ve never heard of a blind demigod either. At least not in modern times. And didn’t every ancient hero get something in return? Like the gift of prophecy or something?” Thalia suggested. Jade just held back a sigh in relief. She didn’t want people to know about this. They already thought she was a freak, no need to make it even worse.

“I’m right here, you know,” Jade said, feeling a little annoyed. And if that annoyance stemmed from fear, she could just ignore that fact.

“Well, what do you want to do?” Percy asked. Jade was grateful for that, she really needed someone to be in her corner in all this.

“I _want_ to find out who my mom was and why she left me at a truck stop. I _want_ to be a normal person, who can see again… And I don’t want to tell anyone about my… _gift_ yet.”

There was a slight pause before a hand rested lightly on her shoulder. “You don’t want people to stare at you even more,” Thalia said softly.

Jade wrapped her arms around herself. She didn’t know how Thalia knew how she felt, but she wasn’t about to deny it. She didn’t want to be any more of a freak than she already was.

The daughter of Zeus didn’t strike Jade as the affectionate type, but she didn’t pull her hand away, and it felt strangely comforting. A weird thought sprang into my head. “Wait, does this mean you’re my cousin?” I asked randomly.

Another pause. “Uhm…” Thalia said, and Annabeth and Percy both burst out laughing. Whatever tension that was left in the air dissipated immediately. Jade kind of wished she could see Thalia’s face right now.

“It doesn’t really work that way,” Annabeth said through her giggles. “The gods’ DNA doesn’t really work like ours does, it’s why there’s no problem when they’re siblings and have kids. Like Zeus and Hera,” she explained, a little more seriously.

“Maybe that’s why they’re all so neurotic?” Percy suggested, clearly suppressing another laugh.

There was a slapping sound, and Jade was fairly certain Annabeth had just hit him. “It’s also why there’s no problem with demi-gods dating. Though obviously not if you have the same parent, that’d be gross.”

Jade nodded thoughtfully. It made sense, she supposed. Otherwise none of them would probably look as normal as they did.

“And on that weird note, I have to go. I have archery practice with the Demeter cabin,” Thalia said, sounding resigned. Jade couldn’t imagine Katie or her siblings being any good at the sport, so she could sympathise.

“And we have combat practise,” Annabeth said.

“Can I come?” Jade asked impulsively.

“Wouldn’t you be bored?” Percy asked, a little concern seeping into his voice. Jade was both touched and annoyed. He knew that she could see, and that she could sort of defend herself.

“I’ll be fine,” she snapped, got up and strode to the door. Let them follow if they wanted to, she was going to attend combat practice.

/*/

Combat practice turned out to be… interesting…

At first, she’d just been sitting on the sidelines, listening to Annabeth and Percy spar and occasionally give each other tips and advice (though the latter was more on Annabeth’s part than Percy’s).  But Jade got bored fairly quickly. There was only so much “No, Percy, that was a feint, you have to parry from the left!” that she could take.

A cry from the other side of the arena drew everyone’s attention, though, and Jade jumped up, startled. Gingerly, she opened up her Sight to peek. Apparently, one of the Athena kids had gotten through their sparring partner’s guard and had been a little too enthusiastic. Jade couldn’t tell exactly who it was, or what was wrong, but their Sparks were suddenly surrounded by a red glow. Grabbing her cane, she made her way over, occasionally elbowing someone aside.

Someone was uttering apology after apology, but Jade ignored them.

Her Sight couldn’t tell her much, except that it was a guy, and that he was bleeding from a wound in his side. Before she could realize what she was doing, she was crouching next to him and had put her hand on the wound.

“Jade, what are you…?” Percy asked.

Jade didn't answer, instead focusing on the wound. She urged the blood back, to stay where it was supposed to be. And slowly, she could feel the blood creeping back. Her hand, which had been slick with blood a moment ago, now felt completely dry.

“How did you do that?” the wounded guy asked.

“I… I don't know. I just… did,” she said uncertainly. She could feel everyone's eyes on her and she cursed her stupid powers for making her look like a freak again.

“Malcolm, how do you feel?” Annabeth asked. She sounded concerned and wary, and Jade immediately felt even worse. What if she’d done something wrong?

“Well, it still hurts like a bitch if that's what you're asking. But… I'm okay. It's weird, I kind of feel like I’ve just eaten some ambrosia, all warm… Like I'm healing,” Malcolm replied, sounding as confused as everyone else.

“Well, I still think you should eat some. And get Chiron or someone from Apollo check you out,” Annabeth said.

Jade felt tears welling up. Why couldn't she just be normal? Grabbing her cane, she shoved her way out of the crowd and ran. She ran until her feet hit water, and then dove in. Percy had told her that children of Poseidon couldn't drown, but they could definitely hide between the seaweed and fish. Maybe here she wouldn't be such a freak…

/*/

After about 5 minutes, braiding seaweed started to get boring, and Jade had already figured out that most of the fish weren't much for conversation, no matter how curious they were. She felt awful, though, and wallowing seemed like the appropriate response.

She just wanted to be normal, to fit in. All her life, she’s been the freak no one wanted. Most of her foster families had just taken her in because of the monetary benefits, and she’d been crammed in a too-small room with one or two foster siblings. She’d never fitted in there, so when she got to Camp Half-Blood, she’d thought that maybe, _maybe_ she could find a home here.

So, of course, Jade had to go blind, being the first camper with that handicap, and now she had some freaky healing powers? How much more of an outcast could she be?

“I believe humans use the phrase ‘penny for your thoughts’?”

A deep voice startled Jade from her wallowing. Under water, she didn’t even need her Sight, since the currents could tell her more accurately what something - or someone - looked like. The person who’d talked to her was a big guy, but more in a surfer kind of way, not a bodybuilder way. He was smiling serenely, his hands stuck in the pockets of his shorts, and his hawaiian shirt drifting lazily in the water. Oh, and he was breathing.

“What- who?” Jade started to say, and then stopped. Aside from Percy and herself, there was only one person Jade could think of who could breathe under water. She’d just never thought he’d come talk to her. “Dad?” she asked gingerly.

Poseidon nodded, the serene smile still firmly in place.

“What are you… how did you know…?” she stammered. How did one talk to their Godly parent? Especially when one is sitting at the bottom of the ocean, surrounded by schools of curious fish.

“You may not be aware of your powers just yet, but you’re sending out quite powerful vibes. One of my subjects alerted me to the high waves in the vicinity. I figured I’d come see what the problem was,” he said, shrugging.

Jade could feel herself getting angry now. “You want to know what the problem is?” she said, clenching her fists. “How about the fact that apparently, I’m a half-God, and I had no idea? Or what about the fact that I have no idea who my birthmother is? Or if she’s even alive?” she shouted.

“She’s alive,” Poseidon said.

“Well, that’s just great. She just left me in a truck stop somewhere and never bothered to try to find me. I feel _so_ much better now!” Jade furiously tried to keep her tears at bay.

Finally, that smile melted away. “I wish I could explain, but we’re not allowed to interfere. Just know that your separation was a because of a third party, not because your mother didn’t want you.”

That took her by surprise. “What?”

“I’ve already said too much. The only reason I was able to come talk to you at all was because you were upsetting the sea.”

“So you’ll just go back to ignoring me? Like all the Gods ignore their kids?” she spat. She was being childish, and she knew it. But she also couldn’t help herself. She was hurt and confused, and lashing out at him seemed easier than dealing with those feelings. Being angry was easier.

Poseidon sighed. “I wish it was different,” he said evenly. “Your mother… your mother tempted me to stay behind, to leave my duties… In the end, she was the one who told me I couldn’t live in both worlds.”

At the wistfulness in his tone, Jade anger diminished a little. “What’s her name?” she asked quietly.

He looked pained for a moment, before the expression was gone. “I can’t tell you, I’m sorry.”

“Right, you can’t interfere,” Jade muttered bitterly. “Can you at least tell me my birthday, then? Or my birth name?” She refused to acknowledge the pleading note that had found its way into her voice.

Poseidon pursed his lips, almost as if he was holding back a smile. “August 18th, 1993,” he said.

“Wait… that’s… Isn’t that Percy’s-?”

“I have to go now. Give my best to your brother,” he said, and promptly dissolved into bubbles.

Jade blinked. She’d just met Poseidon, her dad, God of the Sea and bringer or Earthquakes. And he’d told her that she shared a birthday with Percy. That meant that either their births were ridiculously well-timed (or ill-timed, depending on how you looked at it), or…

...or Percy was more than just her half-brother. He was her twin.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter already? There must be something wrong with me, right? I hope I'll be able to keep this up as NaNoWriMo goes on!

**Chapter 9:**

_ 29 July _

For an entire week after Poseidon had talked to her, Jade had been debating what to do. If Percy really was her twin, shouldn’t she tell him? But he’d probably just laugh at her or just not believe her or something. No one ever did… And even if he did believe her, what if he was mad? And what if he asked her how she knew? Jade wanted to keep Poseidon’s visit a secret for the time being. She wasn’t entirely sure why, and didn’t particularly wanted to examine her reasons, either. 

But she could hardly keep it to herself either. Percy lived with his mom during the year. Their mom… 

Gods, why was this so hard?

And the worst part was that Jade was pretty sure Percy knew something was up. Though maybe he was chalking it up to her freak out session after combat training.

He’d found her a few minutes after Poseidon had left, and had explained that the nereids had told him where to find her. Jade had made a mental note to hide herself better next time.

Truthfully, she felt grateful, and a little fuzzy on the inside that he’d gone through the trouble of finding her. He went on to assure her that he and Annabeth were there for her and that they’d figure out how this new power worked. And when they’d run into Thalia later that day, the daughter of Zeus had hit her on the shoulder and had told her she’d done good, helping that kid like that. 

Chiron was a lot less positive. 

He was concerned that she deviated so much from what Percy could do. He wanted to know exactly where the limits of her powers lay. It was only Percy’s hand that stopped her from running for the hills again. Well, that and Will, who came in right as Chiron said that. 

He’d rolled his eyes, and in his typical way, had made everyone feel comfortable with just a few words.

“So, what now?” Percy had asked. 

“She could train with us?” Will suggested. “We have healing while Percy has combat training anyway, so it’s no big.”

And just like that, it was decided. 

In practise, though, it turned out to be a little more complicated. 

/*/

“So,  _ what _ do I do?” Jade asked, completely confused. This was their first healing lesson, and Will - being the Apollo cabin counsellor - was giving her private lessons, while the other campers were doing whatever it was they usually did during their healing class. They were in a corner of the room, well away from the other campers, and Jade was grateful for it. People stared at her enough lately. 

“I don’t know,  _ you’re _ the one with the crazy healing powers,” he said. Jade couldn’t use her Sight too much, because healing gave her an even worse headache, so she had no idea if he was joking or not. Either way, it wasn’t funny.

“I don’t even know what I did, I just… did it,” she said, frustrated. Massaging her head to stave off the headache, she sat down. “This is useless, I can’t do it.”

A warm hand rested on her shoulder. “Sure you can. You did it before,” Will said, and then sighed. “Look, maybe you need to focus more on what you felt, rather than what exactly you were doing,” he suggested. 

Jade shot him a disbelieving look, but got back up. She’d been practicing on a dummy filled with water, to simulate a real body. It all felt ridiculous, but she didn’t really have much of a choice. 

Concentrating on the dummy, she put her hands on its shoulders, trying to sense the water inside. Naturally, nothing happened, just like the last 20 times she’d tried this. “Just relax,” Will said quietly, putting his own hands on her shoulders. Jade blushed, but tried to do as he said - not an easy feat, considering she kept focussing on his hands and the heat emanating from his body behind her. 

Suddenly, her fingers were tingling, and she could feel  _ something _ moving just beyond her reach. Just like at the arena, everything else melted away, even Will. There was only her and the water running beneath her fingers. She could sense it inside the dummy, could feel it moving around lazily. If this was a real person, their blood would be pumping regularly, sending oxygen to all the internal organs. Jade breathed in and exhaled, willing the water to pump throughout the dummy as if it was a living thing. 

A loud noise startled her broke her concentration. Before she could stop it, her power surged and the dummy burst apart.

There was complete silence, and Jade could practically  _ feel _ the other Apollo kids stare at her. 

“Okay, I think we’ve had enough practice for today,” Will said, forcibly cheery. 

The other campers filed out in a somewhat subdued silence, and Jade just knew that the whole camp would find out in about 10 seconds that she’d made a dummy explode. What was the point of even practicing now? No one would let her go near them if there was a danger she’d make them explode.

“This is useless!” she said loudly, sinking down to the ground. Now that the others were gone, she had no problem giving in to her tears. “Why am I even doing this?” she whispered.

There was a rustling sound, and then Will’s arm came around her shoulder. “Look I  _ know _ you’re going to get it. You just need practice.”

“What for?” she asked, her voice trembling with tears. “I just made a dummy explode, Will, what if I do that to a person?”

He sighed. “You’re not going to do that,” he said firmly, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly.

“How do you know?”

“You were just startled, that’s all,” he tried to assure her. It wasn’t working.

Letting her frustration get the upper hand, Jade shrugged off his arm and got up. “And what if I do that when I’m trying to heal someone? You think there will never be anything to distract me?” she shouted, pacing around the room.

“That won’t happen once you’ve got the hang of-”

“You don’t know that!” she interrupted him, ignoring the unevenness of her voice. 

For a moment, Will didn’t say anything and Jade turned her back on him. It was bad enough he’d seen her freak out like this, but now he wasn’t even arguing anymore. She was right. She  _ was _ a freak.

Then, Jade heard a sound, like a blade being drawn from a sheath. She whirled around. “Will? What are you doing?” she asked apprehensively.

“I don’t know how to make you see just how incredible your gift is,” he said evenly. “As a son of Apollo, I have an instinctive knowledge of healing, and I can take away people’s pain, but I can’t do what you do.”

Jade frowned. “You can take away people’s pain? I didn’t know anyone could do that.”

Sighing, Will walked closer. “None of my siblings can do it, I think it’s a rare gift. And I haven’t told anyone because I know how tempting it is, even though it’s not always the right thing to do.” He must’ve seen Jade’s confusion, because he quickly explained. “Pain is necessary, it tells us something’s wrong and often helps us healers make it right. If you can’t feel pain, you can’t know if something’s wrong. And if I take the pain away, and something changes, my patient wouldn’t be able to tell me about it.”

That made sense. “What does this have to do with-?”

“Everything! It has everything to do with you, don’t you see? You can actually  _ heal _ people, Jade. And it’s like you can’t see how amazing that is!”

Jade felt her cheeks burn. She didn’t think her ‘gift’ was all that great, but she could also see where he was coming from. She wished she could transfer it to him somehow. Will was the one who was good with people, who helped them, not her. 

“And… I just don’t know how to show you that, except…” he trailed off.

“What are you…?” she started, but then she heard the sound of metal slicing flesh and smelled the irony tang of blood. “Will!” she shouted, opening her Sight and closing the gap between them. He was holding his hand, and she could sense the blood dripping down his arm. “What the hell did you do!” she shouted, grabbing his hand gently, despite her panic.

“You need to see,” he said simply. “You can heal it. And I’d appreciate if you did, because it hurts like a bitch.”

“You’re insane,” she said, her voice thick with worry, even as she slipped into that still-unfamiliar state of mind that allowed her to control her powers. She put her hand palm down on Will’s injury, so they were basically holding hands, while her other hand stabilized his arm. His free hand was loosely resting on her elbow. Another deep breath, and she could feel the tingling in her fingers that accompanied her magic.

Will gasped, and Jade was suddenly terrified she’d hurt him somehow. But before she could pull back, he’d moved his hand from her elbow to atop her hand. “It’s fine, it barely hurts, you’re doing perfectly,” he assured her, a smile in his voice. 

She wished she could acknowledge that, but she had to focus. She  _ had _ to heal him.

A few seconds later, the tingling went away, and Jade knew that his wound had started to knit together. For another breath, they just stood there, both of them marvelling at what had just happened. Then, Jade pulled back and slapped his shoulder. “You idiot! Don’t you ever do that again, you hear me?!” she screamed, and then turned on her heel and left, grabbing her cane on the way out.

Healing Will like that had made her tired, far more so than when she’d healed Malcolm the last time, but then, she’d gone straight to Long Island Sound that time, and seawater rejuvenated her. Still, she didn’t think it was too bad until halfway to her cabin, when she swayed on her feet. “Crap,” she whispered, and changed direction.

She only got a few steps, however, when she stumbled again, and she knew she was in trouble. The last thing she heard before she blacked out was her name.

/*/

Percy was exhausted. He’d just come from the Wall, which Annabeth had made him climb up 4 times. And he hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so he was starving. Luckily, it was almost lunchtime, with just enough time left for him to grab a quick shower.

He was almost to his cabin when he saw Jade walking. She seemed to be torn between turning towards the beach and their cabin. Percy grinned. She was using her cane, so she probably didn’t have her Sight on. With some luck, he could scare her a little. But before he’d gone more than three steps, Jade fell. 

“Jade!” he shouted, breaking into a run, despite his protesting muscles. He dropped down onto his knees beside her and shook her shoulders. “Jade! Come on, wake up!”

Jade’s fall hadn’t gone unnoticed, and several people come running. The Stoll brothers were closest, and quickly knelt next to Percy, asking him what had happened. 

“I don’t know, she just fell,” he replied, a little panicky. Jade had been complaining of being tired all week, but he’d thought it was just her being a grouch - she definitely wasn’t a morning person - but he wasn’t expecting  _ this _ .

“I’ll go get Will,” Katie said. Percy hadn’t even noticed she’d arrived before she ran off again, sprinting towards the Apollo cabin. 

“Come on, help me with this,” Connor said as he grabbed Jade’s arms, while his brother grabbed her legs. 

Somewhat dazed, Percy followed them to the Big House. Just as they arrived, Will and Katie came sprinting up the hill. “What happened?” Will asked, concerned. 

“I don’t know!” Percy repeated, getting a little irritated. “I thought she was with you!” he said, a little harshly, glaring at the older boy. 

Will’s steps faltered for a moment, before he caught back up. “I think I know what’s wrong, put her in the infirmary, I’ll be right back!”

The Stoll brothers put Jade on the closest bed in the infirmary, and then backed off to give her some space. Katie and Percy each took a side of the bed, and shared a worried look. It was weird, Percy hadn’t felt this protective of Tyson - though that might have something to do with the fact that his ‘little’ brother was a cyclops - but he’d only known Jade for a little over 3 weeks. And there was still so much he didn’t know about her.

He knew she was a little impulsive, just like him, she didn’t always think things through. She could have a bit of a temper, and was a grouch in the morning. He knew she’d grown up in several foster homes, but he didn’t know anything about her time there. Usually when they talked before going to sleep, it was about what they’d done that day, or something funny they’d seen or heard. Now he felt guilty for not trying to get to know her better, she was his sister, after all.

His train of thought was interrupted as Will came sprinting through the door, holding two bottles. Katie moved aside as Will unscrewed one of them, but before any of them could do anything, Will upended it over Jade’s head. Percy let out a sound of protest, but then he smelled the salt. Seawater?

“Relax, she’ll be okay, she’s just exhausted herself,” the blonde said, now holding the second bottle to Jade’s lips. She was stirring, and sleepily sipping the liquid inside.

“What is that?” Percy asked curiously. 

“It’s sort of like an energy drink that Connor and I’ve been working on. It’s healthier, but still gives you a boost. There’s a few drops of nectar in it, so it’s strictly for demigods, but it works wonders. 

“What happened to get her so tired?” Katie asked, looking at her friend with concern.

At that, Will got a distinctly guilty look. “What did you do?” Percy asked, maybe a little harsher than necessary. Call it his big brother instincts kicking in. 

“Nothing! She just… healed me. And then she stormed off. When she healed Malcolm, she went straight for the sea, which I figure helped stave off the exhaustion. But it built up, and healing me was the proverbial last drop,” he explained, looking both remorseful and just a little scared as Percy kept glaring at him. Good. Let him know not to mess with his little-

“Hey guys. What’d I miss?” a sleepy voice interrupted.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another chapter done! I'm a little behind with NaNoWriMo (4k words, give or take), but it's still helping me update more often than I usually would, so yay for that!  
> Anyway, thanks so much for all the kind reviews! On with the chapter; enjoy!

** Chapter 10: **

_Previously:  
_

_Good. Let him know not to mess with his little-  
_

_“Hey guys. What’d I miss?” a sleepy voice interrupted._

/*/

_29 July_

“Nothing much, you fainted, Will felt guilty for pushing you, Percy tried to kill him with the power of his mind. You know, the usual,” Katie said dryly.

Jade laughed, which cost a lot more energy than it should have. She felt really tired, but not more than she’d been feeling all week. Her talk with dear ol’ dad had been keeping her up, especially since she was keeping such a big secret from her brother. The mental reminder dampened her spirits a little. “I’m okay, guys, really. I should just get some rest, that’s all. I haven’t been sleeping all that well,” she said. And then she cursed herself, because she had definitely not meant to say that much.

“What? Why not?” Will asked, concerned as always.

Someone grabbed her hand and squeezed it - Katie, she thought - and Jade was grateful for the unspoken support. “It’s nothing, really.”

She could practically hear the scepticism in the air after her blatant lie. “You’re a terrible liar,” Percy said. “What’s wrong?”

“ _Nothing,”_ Jade insisted, but she could tell her friends weren’t going to let this go. It was her own damn fault for letting something slip anyway.

“Come on, Jade, you know you can tell us anything,” Katie said softly

Hesitating for a moment longer, Jade hung her head. They _really_ weren’t going to let this go. “It’s… I…” Gods, she didn’t even know where to start explaining this. “There’s something I need to tell you, but… I need to tell Percy first,” she said, making a decision.

There was a short pause, before Katie squeezed her hand again. “We’ll be just outside if you need us.” And with that, she was left alone with her brother.

She wondered vaguely if Percy was older. She’d been assuming so ever since they’d found out they were siblings, but now that she knew they were twins. Maybe she was older. Gods, if it turned out that she was 10 minutes older, she was never going to let Percy forget about it. That thought both cheered her up and got rid of most of her nerves.

“So, what’s up?” Percy asked, sounding a little unsure himself as he sat down on the edge of her bed.

“Uhm… So, you remember how, after I healed Malcolm, I kind of… ran off?” she started. _‘Wow, real smooth, he’s totally not going to be confused by this_ at all _.’_

“Uhm. Sure?” Percy replied, sounding even more confused now.

Sighing, Jade shifted on the bed. She really wished she could pace, or at least walk around now, but she was afraid her legs wouldn’t hold her in her current state. Fidgeting it was, then. “So, you also know that I ended up in Long Island Sound, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well… Ikindatalkedtodad,” she mumbled, as quickly as she could.

For half a minute, Percy didn’t react, and Jade thought he’d just not understood her. “You did what? How? What did he- Why didn’t you- What?”

“Uhm… I talked to dad. He kind of just showed up. We didn’t talk very long, and he said the only reason he even talked to me was because I was upsetting the weather, though I’m not sure if that was an excuse, because you didn’t say anything about that when you came and got me,” she babbled.

“What did he say?” Percy asked urgently. There was also something else in his voice. Something a lot like envy.

“Not much, like I said, he couldn’t stay long. He… he told me my birth date.”

Silence.

Then Percy said; “Oh.” He was quiet for another minute. “When is it?” he asked.

“August 18th 1993,” she whispered.

Another pause followed, but this one lasted a lot longer. Jade’s curiosity and nerves grew so insistent, that she even used her Sight for a few moments, even though her head immediately started pounding. Percy sat frozen, leaning back.

“I’ve been trying to tell you all week, but I didn’t know how to. And I don’t really have any proof, except dad’s word, and…” she trailed off. She had absolutely no idea how to deal with this situation. She had no idea what to say to him that would make him feel better. If there was even something that _could_ do that.

“It’s not possible,” Percy finally said.

“Percy-” Jade started, but Percy shot off of the bed, startling her. She quickly shut off her Sight, for fear that the headache would make her faint again.

“No! My mom would have said something! She would have told me if I had a sister!”

He sounded angry, and Jade recoiled a little from him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered so softly she could barely hear it herself.

She could hear Percy’s heavy breathing, and felt immensely guilty. She should have just kept her mouth shut, what did it matter that they were twins? Hadn’t she resented her birth mother before this? Hadn’t she all but decided that she was better off just thinking of her adopted parents as her _real_ parents? Obviously Percy wasn’t dealing with this as well as she was. She should have just kept her mouth _shut_!

“What?” Percy said. He still sounded shocked, but she’d obviously distracted him somehow. Wait, had she said that out loud?

“Nothing. I… can you send the others in?” she asked quickly. She might not know Percy as well as she wanted yet, but she knew he needed to be alone, and to think about this. It’s what she’d wanted to do what she’d first found out, after all.

Percy didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, he walked out, and Jade hated to admit that it hurt. She hadn’t expected him to stay - he needed to process - but it still hurt that he left without saying anything. It had been hard enough for him to accept that she was his half-sister, now that he knew she was his twin… what if he didn’t want anything to do with her anymore?

She’d had plenty of foster siblings who didn’t want her around, and even a couple who did a lot worse than just ignore her. But with Percy, she’d started to think that maybe she could have a family again. Maybe, for the first time since she was 6, she’d found someone who cared enough to stick around, even when she was being a brat.

Before she knew what was happening, warm tears slipped down her cheeks, and Katie’s arms envelloped her, hiding her from the world. And Jade found she didn’t care. The world could go to Hades for all she cared. Right now, all she wanted to do was let go.

/*/

When Percy was upset, there was one place he usually went to think. It was the only place he could really think, where no one would bother me. But before he could take more than two steps into Long Island Sound, he remembered that, apparently, it had also become Jade’s hiding spot. And it was the place Poseidon had talked to her.

The whole situation just made him angry, so instead of going in, he plopped angrily down into the sand.

He wasn’t even sure what the hell he was even angry about. Nothing. Everything. Poseidon deigning to talk to her, while he’d ignored him ever since their meeting on Olympus. Jade not telling him what she’d learned for a whole week. His mom never telling him he had a fucking _twin sister_. How the hell could he not have known?

Rationally, he realized that losing a kid might have been too painful for his mom to talk about. After all, she’d refused to talk about his dad, too, for the longest time. And Jade - as she’d said - hadn’t known how to tell him. Percy probably wouldn’t have known what to say if her were in her shoes, either. Rationally, he knew this. But his anger was in charge at the moment, and the waves that had been lapping onto the beach peacefully a moment ago, now reflected his mood.

“Hey, Jackson!”

The shout pulled him from his dark thoughts, startling him into looking up. Will was running down the beach, looking none too happy either. The older boy had never called him by his last name before, and Percy knew this was a bad sign.

But he was in a bad mood, and didn’t want to deal with this now. “Go away, Will,” he said, turning his attention back to the waves.

But a second later, something heavy collided with him, and he and Will tumbled sideways into the sand.

“What the hell?!” Percy spat, pushing the blond off and getting up, his anger soaring.

Will glared at him. “You’re an ass, you know that?”

“What did _I_ do?” Percy asked incredulously.

“Jade is in there crying right now, because she thinks you hate her and don’t want her as a sister. I get that this is a lot to process, but how do you think _she_ feels?!” he shouted.

Percy’s anger melted away, leaving only embarrassment and guilt. He hadn’t even considered what Jade had to be going through. “Why would she think I hate her?”

“Uhm, maybe because you stormed out of there like without saying a word, like you couldn’t wait to get out of there,” Will snapped. “I don’t know if you noticed, but Jade can’t read your facial expressions that well anymore, for all she knew, you were glaring at her in disgust.”

Percy flushed red. What with Jade’s Sight, he’d kind of forgotten that it wasn’t perfect. She couldn’t see colours or - as Will so aptly said - facial expressions. “Shit!” he swore, got up, and ran straight back to the Big House.

Jade was still there, of course, curled up in a ball on the bed. Katie sat at her side, rubbing soothing circles on her back. Percy felt even more guilty now.

Katie shot him a half-hearted glare, but got up from the bed and left the room.

“Jade?” Percy said. She didn’t move, and her back was to him, so he wasn’t sure if she’d heard him. Or if she was even awake for that matter. “Jade, I’m sorry. I… I didn’t mean to hurt you by running off like that, I just… I got mad.”

For a moment, Jade didn’t respond. Then, she unfurled from her curled up position and lay down on her back, staring at the ceiling. Her eyes were bloodshot and a little puffy, but thankfully dry. He wasn’t sure what he would have done if she’d have been crying. “It’s okay, I understand,” she said, her voice a little rough.

“No, it’s not. I was an ass, and I’m sorry. I’m glad you’re my sister, really. I just wasn’t expecting it.”

She turned her head towards him, looking the tiniest bit hopeful. “Really?” she whispered.

He grinned, even though she couldn’t see it. “Of course, you idiot. Trust me, if I didn’t like you, I’d have sent Tyson after you. For a little brother, he’s really protective.”

Jade huffed out a laugh. “Well, who else would keep you in line?” she joked.

“I’m pretty sure Annabeth’s up for that job,” he replied, coming over to sit on the edge of the bed. “How you feeling anyway?”

Jade pulled up one shoulder in a shrug. “I’m okay. Still a bit tired, but I’ll be okay in the morning,” she said. Then she frowned. “What happened anyway? I remember coming back from training with Will, and then…”

“You fainted. Exhaustion, Will said. Something about healing making you tired or something?” Percy said, struggling to remember exactly what the blond archer had said.

Jade fell silent. “I don’t want to do that again,” she said quietly.

“What, why not?” he asked, surprised. He thought she’d want to practise this.

Despite her blindness, she still managed to send him a flat look. “I made a dummy explode today, Percy, and apparently, it makes me faint. Not exactly a useful gift,” she said. And then she looked away and muttered; “Just another freakish ability to set me apart.”

Percy frowned. He’d heard her call herself a freak before, but he hadn’t thought too much of it. Now he was starting to wonder if there was a story behind it. Before he could ask, though, Thalia sauntered in.

“You know, you should ask for a personal room, what with the amount of time you spend in here,” she commented dryly.

Jade started; she obviously hadn’t heard the other girl come in. “Thalia, hey. Think Chiron will let me?” she joked, even though it sounded a bit forced.

Holding up her hands in surrender - even though she knew full well Jade couldn’t see it - Thalia shrugged. “Hey, take it up with the horse. How’re you doing, fish-girl?”

Jade made a face. “Fish-girl?”

“It’s a work in progress, bear with me,” Thalia said, grinning.

“I thought you’d be with Annabeth,” Percy said.

The dark-haired girl shrugged. “She’s with her siblings at archery practice, so I figured I’d come hang out here. I heard some Apollo guys say that greeny-gills over here caused an explosion.”

 _‘That must be that dummy she was talking about,’_ Percy thought. “You blew something up?” he teased, elbowing her lightly.

Jade blushed. “It didn’t blow up, I just got distracted and sort of… exploded the water inside the dummy,” she mumbled, obviously embarrassed.

Percy smiled softly at her. “We’re going home.”

Thalia sniggered. “I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for that. Did anyone scream? I bet someone screamed.”

“I don’t think so, but I was kind of distracted by the whole explosion thing,” Jade replied dryly.

Thalia gave another snort before she sobered up a little. “Okay, real reason I’m here is actually for the Seaweed brain,” she said, and then turned to Percy.

He gave an obligatory half-hearted glare at the nickname, but turned to listen nonetheless. “Chiron wants to know when everyone’s headed home so Argus can start to organize shifts to drive the van to the city,” Thalia explained. Then she turned back to Jade. “And he wants to know which campers are staying year-round. Do you have any place to go, or are you staying here?”

Jade looked down at her hands. “I don’t know. I’m going back to my foster family, they… I’m not going back.”

Percy frowned. Jade was his twin, she had a family, why would she think that she’d have to go back to…? And then it dawned on him. She just hadn’t realized that she had a mom now, a family to be with.

Oh crap, his mom… Percy _really_ needed to call her to tell her that her long-lost daughter was apparently not that lost anymore.

“Jade and I are going home,” he said before his brain could catch up. Seaweed brain, indeed. Hanging out with Annabeth really should have taught him a long time ago that he shouldn’t made decisions for other people.

“I- What?” Jade said eloquently.

Thalia echoed her. “Yeah. What?”

“Uhm. Turns out Jade isn’t just my half-sister, she’s my twin. So, we’re going to live with mom. After I call her… Assuming I’ll still be alive to share my room, since mom is probably going to kill me for not telling her sooner. Even though I only just found out myself.”

“She’s… What?” Thalia said, dumbfounded.

Jade was staring at him, a vulnerable yet hopeful look in her eyes.

Percy smiled softly at her. “We’re going home.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah, this chapter didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, and it feels way too filler, I'm so sorry about that guys! I promise I'll try to include some more action soon!

**Chapter 11:**

_ 5 August _

Jade was buzzing with nervous energy. It had been a week since Percy had offered to let her come home with him, and it had been… a little hectic.

Percy had called him mom -  _ ‘Our mom’ _ \- with Argus’s phone. Demigods don’t usually use phones, as it attracts monsters like a huge, blinking, neon beacon, but this counted as an emergency, so Chiron had allowed it. And they were protected by the wards, so there wasn’t all that much danger. Percy had offered Jade to say something, too, but she’d chickened out, hiding out in the strawberry fields with Katie instead. The thought of calling Sally - her  _ mom _ \- was somehow scarier than anything else she’d faced. 

Unfortunately, the lack of contact only served to make her nerves today even worse.

It was August now, and Percy, Jade and some other campers were waiting for Argus to drive them back to New York. Katie had already left the night before, and Will was only leaving a week later, though he’d come out to wait with her. 

Since they all had ADHD, they were all naturally jittery, but Jade was practically bouncing, flitting from one side to the other. Percy was playing a particularly energetic game of hackey sack - with some questionable rules Jade had never heard of before - with some Hermes kids, so Will was left to try and calm Jade down.

“What if she doesn’t like me?” Jade asked nervously. She’d been going over different doom scenarios in her head all morning, probably to the annoyance of everyone around her, but so far, Will hadn’t complained.

The blond sighed. Maybe he was a  _ little _ annoyed. “It’ll be fine, I’m sure you’ll get along splendidly.” I was basically a variation of what Percy had been telling her all week, but it did nothing to soothe her nerves.

“How can you be sure? You don’t even know her… My  _ mom _ .” It still sounded weird to say that out loud.

She could practically  _ hear _ Will rolling his eyes. “You’re right, I don’t, but I know you, and you’re fun, so just let it go already.”

Jade wrung her hands for a moment, before going back to pacing. “I’m sorry, I know I’m being annoying,” she said guiltily.

“It’s fine, Jade. You just have to have faith that you’ll be okay. At worst, it’s going to be awkward for a while, but you’ll get over that eventually,” Will assured her. He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her to a stop in front of him. “And Percy will be there, so you’ll be okay.”

Squeezing his hands, she smiled softly at him. “Thanks, Will. You’re a good friend.”

“Well, this good friend is going to go back to camp, Argus’s here. Send me a message later, okay? Percy’ll tell you how.”

Sure enough, Jade could hear a car pulling up.

“Jade, you’re squishing my fingers,” Will said, a little tensely.

“Shit, sorry!” Jade quickly let go of his hand and took a step back. “I’m just nervous.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” he replied sarcastically, but there was a smile in his voice, so Jade didn’t think he was too annoyed with her.

“I’ll message you, I promise,” she said. She was going to say something else, but she noticed Percy walking up to them.

“We’re up, you ready?” he asked, and Jade marveled at how calm he was. 

“See you, Percy, bye, Jade!” Will said, and jogged off down the hill.

Jade wished she could turn on her Sight to watch him go, if only because it distracted her from the van behind her, but her headaches had been getting worse lately, so she didn’t want to risk it.

“How are you so calm about this?” Jade asked Percy as she fiddled with her cane. 

“It’s just mom, I’m excited to see her, but… it’s no big deal to me,” he said, and she could hear the shrug in his voice. He put a hand on her elbow and started leading them to the van. All her stuff was in Percy’s bag, so luckily she didn’t have to carry anything around. 

“Well, it’s a big deal to  _ me _ ,” she muttered. “I’m about to meet my birth mom for the first time, and I have no clue how it’s going to go.”

“Don’t worry about it, mom’s the best, she likes everyone. She was really excited to see you, too,” Percy assured her as he helped her get into the car.

“Everyone keeps telling me that, but it doesn’t make it any easier,” Jade mumbled under her breath.

It was only a short drive to New York, and most of the other kids got off at the bus station, where either their parents picked them up, or they got a ticket to wherever they lived. Then, Argus dropped off the few demigods living in New York at their homes. Percy and Jade were the second to last to go.

“Thanks for the ride, Argus,” Percy said. Argus didn’t answer, but Jade wasn’t sure that he could. She’d never heard him speak, and he was hard to spot, even with her Sight, despite the fact that the guy had to be steeped in magic.

Percy got out of the car and then grabbed Jade’s hand, making sure she didn’t trip, probably. It was kind of sad how dependant she’d become on her Sight, even if she only used it for short periods of time. Out here, even if she were to turn her Sight on, she’d see almost complete darkness. It was unsettling, so she decided to keep it shut for now; it couldn’t help her navigate anyway.

“It’s over here, we’re on the fifth floor,” Percy said, leading her by the elbow. The apartment complex didn’t have an elevator - which probably made it cheaper to rent - so they took the stairs all the way up. Which was probably a good thing, because all the car ride had accomplished was make her nervous energy skyrocket. 

They exited the stairwell into a hallway that Jade guessed held other apartments. She could faintly hear the other tenants moving around or watching TV. It made her briefly consider if their mom could actually afford to have another kid there.

“This is us,” Percy said as they stopped. There was a jangling sound as he fished his keys out of his pocket.

“Percy, wait,” Jade said, reaching out and grabbing his arm. “I don’t think I can do this.”

“Jade, it’s okay,” he replied distractedly. 

“I can’t breathe. I can’t do this,” she said, taking a step back. She was on the verge of hyperventilating, and she didn’t know what to do.

Finally, Percy noticed. “Hey, it’s okay, I’m here, you’re okay,” he said, putting his hands on her arms. 

“You don’t understand, I  _ can’t _ !” 

“What’s wrong? I don’t get it, it’s just mom-”

“I just  _ can’t _ ,” she said, a little hysterically. Jade had no idea how to explain what was going on to Percy. He didn’t understand. “You don’t understand, you’ve never lost-” she cut herself off and turned around, pulling away from her brother.

“Lost…? Is this about your adoptive parents?” he asked softly. 

“I… they died. And my aunt and uncle didn’t want me. My first foster family… I thought maybe I’d get another chance at having a family,” she explained shakily. “And it was okay for a while. But their son hated me, and lied to his parents. They sent me back. The next family couldn’t be bothered to feed me or my foster siblings most of the time. And then they got arrested and I had to go away again.”

Percy didn’t say anything. Jade wasn’t sure she’d know what to say if were in his shoes, so she didn’t blame him. Maybe now he could finally see what a freak she was; how no one in their right minds would want her around. 

“Everyone leaves in the end,” she whispered. 

/*/

Percy had no idea what to say. He couldn’t even imagine feeling the say Jade did now. Smelly Gabe might’ve been in the running for world’s worst stepdad, but he’d always had a more or less stable home. His mom loved him and would do anything for him. Jade… she never had anything like that, not since she was 6 years old.

Before now, he’d never really felt sorry for Jade before. She’d lost her sight, and he knew she’d had it hard, growing up, but she’d always seemed to be taking things in a stride. He’d only really seen her struggle with stuff two or three times. And even then, she’d gotten over it pretty fast. But hearing about her past now… no wonder she adapted so quickly, she’d learned early on that if she didn’t… she wouldn’t survive. 

“Jade-” he started, wanting to assure her that they were family, and family never abandons each other, but he was interrupted by the opening of a door.

“Percy?” his mom said.

Percy turned around to face her. She looked both worried and excited as she looked over his shoulder at Jade’s back. “Mom. Uhm. This is Jade,” he said, pushing his previous train of thought to the back of his mind. Gently, so as not to startle her, he reached out and turned her around by the shoulder. “Jade, this is Sally, our mom.”

Jade’s eyes were red, but she wasn’t crying. Her expression was guarded, but not angry or sad anymore, so Percy figured she was okay. 

Mom gasped and put a hand to her mouth. She  _ did _ look like she was about to cry.

Percy hoisted his backpack more securely on his back, and took a step towards his mom, pulling her into a hug. “I missed you,” he said quietly.

“Oh, I’m sorry, sweetie, of course I missed you,” mom said, squeezing him back. As she pulled away, her eyes were drawn back to Jade. “We should go inside. I hope you don’t mind, Jade, you’re sharing a room with Percy,” she said hesitantly, as if she was afraid that any little thing would send Jade running for the hills.

“It’s okay, I’m used to it,” Jade said quietly. She was so withdrawn, Percy could barely tell what she was thinking. He wondered if she’d been the same every time she’d been introduced to a new foster family.

They all went inside, and Percy showed Jade to their room. He was a little irritated that he’d have to share his room, but it’s not like they had much choice, they couldn’t afford a three-bedroom apartment in New York. 

Mom hovered in the doorway, still unable to keep her eyes off Jade. Percy understood why, of course, but he could also tell it was making Jade uncomfortable. 

“What’s for dinner?”

Mom smiled. “Always thinking about your stomach, huh?”

“Hey, I’m a growing boy,” he replied, grinning.

“No kidding, I’m the one who buys your clothes, remember?” mom teased. And then she turned back to Jade. “I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I figured we’d do breakfast for dinner. There’s waffles and pancakes and stuff like that, if that’s okay?”

Percy perked up. “Blue ones?” he asked, even though he knew the answer to that.

“Always,” mom replied with a grin. 

But Jade was frowning again, and Percy realized he probably shouldn’t have mentioned the old tradition. “Why blue ones?”

Percy looked at his mom, but she didn’t seem like she had any clue as to what to say either. “Uhm. My step-dad… he used to say that there’s no such thing as blue food, so it’s kind of an inside joke that we try to make all our food blue,” he explained. 

“Oh,” Jade said. “I didn’t know you were married,” she said to mom.

Mom blushed, and looked guilty. It was probably a good thing Jade couldn’t see her. “He’s no longer in the picture. He was… he wasn’t a good man.”

And just like that - despite the somewhat tense atmosphere that had hung around them before - Jade seemed to relax a little. “I know what that’s like,” she said softly.

For a moment, no one said anything, though it wasn’t as awkward as Percy had thought it would be. “I’m…  _ really _ glad you’re home, Jade,” mom said, her voice sounding a little choked up. “I never thought… I never thought I’d get the chance to… to see you again.”

“Yeah, uhm…” Jade said. “You… you seem nice,” she finished lamely. Percy would have rolled his eyes if he hadn’t been equally bad at expressing himself most of the time.

“Thank you,” mom said softly, and it sounded so sincere, like Jade had actually given her the biggest compliment ever. “I’ll let you get settled in. Dinner will be ready whenever you are.”

Mom turned and left, closing the door behind her as she left. For a few minutes, Percy and Jade just sat on his bed in companionable silence. Then, Percy started feeling his ADHD kick in and started getting stuff out of his backpack. There wasn’t a lot in there; mostly orange Camp Half-Blood shirts and some pants, and Jade’s stuff.

“Uhm, mom told me she emptied that dresser, if you want to put some stuff in there,” Percy said, starting to point. Then he realized she couldn’t see him, and mentally smacked himself. Idiot.

“Sorry, it’s on the other side of you mattress, to your left,” he explained. 

Jade crawled over her bed and easily found the dresser. “Are you using your Sight?” he asked curiously. He tried not to ask too much about it, since he knew she was a bit uncomfortable talking about it, but he kind of wanted to know. 

She hesitated. “Uhm, no. It doesn’t really help much around here. If I turned it on now, I’d only be able to see you and- and mom,” she explained still stumbling slightly over ‘mom’.

“Like, through the wall?” he asked, confused. 

Jade laughed. “Sort of. It’s dimmed. And the more barriers, the less I can see. I can tell there’s someone in the apartment next to us,” she said, pointing to the wall adjacent to the next-door apartment. “But I can’t see further than that. And I can’t see what they’re doing, they don’t have enough magic for that.”

Frowning, Percy pulled his legs up onto the bed. “You always seem to ‘see’ what I’m doing. And what do you mean, ‘magic’?”

Jade sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose - probably because of another headache. “You’re half God, Percy, and near as I can tell, the stronger your magic, the clearer you are. Our dad’s one of the Big Three, so you’re clearer than, say, Katie, ‘cause she’s Demeter’s child. I can’t even use my Sight when Mr. D’s in the room, he’s practically blinding.”

Percy considered that. He supposed it sounded logical, even though he still didn’t really get it. 

Meanwhile, Jade had been loading her meager possessions into the cabinet. She seemed more or less at ease now, but whenever mom was around, she seemed to clam up. He just hoped they’d start getting along better soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've been trying to show how awkward and nerve-wracking this whole situation is for Jade, and I hope I at least marginally succeeded. I know Percy seems a little ooc here, because he's not usually this mature and grown up, but I also think he's been settling into a big brother role with Jade over the past month, so when he's not with her, he can be a lot more childish, but when she's around, he feels like he needs to protect her. I hope I managed to convey that a little bit in this chapter.
> 
> I honestly have no idea where I'm going with this story in the near future, I basically just know that I want to rewrite the books from Jade's perspective, the way she deals with stuff at camp or at home. I'm making this up as I go, so if there's a particular scene you'd like to see, feel free to ask for it, I'll see if I can work it in.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly more action in this one; enjoy!

** Chapter 12: **

Dinner went by fairly quickly. Jade switched off telling stories and anecdotes with Percy and their mom, but let them do most of the talking. She kept to safe topics, like her dad taking her to the beach, and the one time she’d gone surfing. She suspected that her mom and brother were doing the same, but couldn’t help her rising irritation. With every story about going to the park and blue birthday cake, she felt more and more like they were rubbing her nose in the fact that they’d been together and happy all these years - a smelly step-dad notwithstanding. She knew it was illogical and dumb, but she couldn’t help it.

“So how come you lost me anyway?” she asked as innocently as she could manage. Which probably failed miserably. It was nasty of her to bring that up, but she couldn’t stop herself.

She’d interrupted Percy practically mid-sentence, so now she could feel and mom staring at her. “Jade!” Percy protested.

“It’s okay, Percy,” mom interrupted. “Uhm…” she started gingerly. “You were just under a year old, and we were at the park…” she trailed off, and the tension in the room rose. Now Jade felt guilty for asking; it was obviously painful for her. “I took my eyes off you for two seconds to fish Percy out of the fountain, and…”

Jade would have laughed if the conversation wasn’t so heavy.

“And then you were gone,” mom continued, her voice a little choked up, like she was either fighting tears, or was already crying.

Instinctively, Jade reached out to put her hand on her mom’s, who gripped it right back.

Mom took a steadying breath before continuing. “I called the cops, and we searched for hours, but… Percy was inconsolable, you two were inseparable back then.” Jade’s own eyes started tearing up as she imagined what that must have been like. She knew what it felt like to lose your parents, she could imagine losing a child being even worse. “Your father came to me a week later and told me that Nemesis had been behind it. She shielded you from him and made sure the police couldn’t make the connection. Your father tried so hard to find you, even tried to make a deal with Nemesis, but she refused. According to her, revenge is useless if it’s not completed,” mom went on.

Releasing her hand, Jade leaned forward and hugged her mother. It struck her that this was the first time she’d hugged her mother since she’d been a year old, and the thought made her feel even worse. She should never have brought this up, and she hoped mom wouldn’t be angry.

Mom pulled back and cupped Jade’s cheeks. “Losing you was the worst day of my life. I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’re okay, and that you’re here with me,” she said, and now Jade could easily hear the tears in her voice.

It made her own tears fall in response as she went back in for a hug. There was nothing in the world quite like being buried in your mother’s arms, safe from the rest of the world. The last time Jade had felt that way, she’d been 6 years old, and her parents were saying goodbye before they got on their boat.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Mom put a hand on her head and slowly started petting her hair. “You’re home,” mom whispered almost imperceptibly.

And for the first time since Jade had lost her parents, she thought that might just be true…

/*/

A week passed more or less peacefully. Percy had been enrolled in a new school, but they were still working out what to do with Jade, since she could hardly go to a normal school.

Jade had been working really hard to get to know her mom better, and to be a good daughter. And it had been going so well; Jade was starting to get the hang of the Jacksons’ little habits and traditions, and she’d slowly started opening up a little about her life in foster care - even if she’d kept the worst parts to herself.

So, naturally, things needed to go wrong, Murphy’s Law and all that.

It had started out as a fairly normal day. Percy and mom had prepared a picnic - mom was really going all out with these family outings - while Jade struggled to make herself presentable in the bathroom. At camp, the bathroom basically had a small river with a waterfall on one end, and it was big and open, and thus easy to navigate. Here, the bathroom consisted of a shower stall with a toilet crammed in next to it, and completed with two sinks. For a blind girl, it wasn’t the easiest to get around in, but she managed.

After pulling on a shirt that she knew was hers solely because of how small it was, and some jeans, Jade crabbed her cane and made her way to the kitchen.

“Morning sweetie,” mom said cheerfully.

“Hey mom, hi Perce,” Jade replied, sitting down in her customary seat at the table. Before Jade had moved in, no one had had their own space, mom and Percy had just sat wherever there was room. But they’d found that Jade needed to know where things were, so the apartment had to be kept fairly clean, and stuff needed to have their space, so now everyone always sat in the same spot, even in the living room.

That had bothered Jade at first, she hadn’t wanted her mom or brother to have to change anything about their lives, but they’d assured her - often - that it was okay, and that they didn’t mind.

“Here,” Percy said, handing her a cereal box. That was another thing Jade hated about being blind outside of Camp; she was pretty much completely dependent on Percy and mom to feed her.

“All ready for today?” mom asked once Jade had finished breakfast.

After giving an affirmative answer, they all got ready and went out the door.

It was a beautiful day, if a bit hot for that time of year, but Jade didn’t care. She hadn’t been outside the apartment a whole lot lately, and it felt great to be out in the open again. Jade desperately wished she could run ahead, take off her shoes and bury her toes in the grass, but she didn't know the park well enough, and she doubted mom would let her.

They settled on a picnic table near the fountain Percy had crawled into as a baby. Mom said she wanted to make some good memories to replace the bad ones.

Percy regaled them with stories about his latest adventure - a quest through the Sea of Monsters with Annabeth and Tyson.

“No way!” Jade exclaimed. “You were a hamster? How did you get out of that?” she asked, completely engaged in the story.

“I was a guinea pig, actually,” he corrected. “And Annabeth fed me vitamins Hermes had given us.”

“Wait, when did that happen?” Jade asked, confused. Percy was a good storyteller, but he had a tendency to forget important parts of the story.

“I’m more interested in these pirates,” mom said. “You didn’t tell me about those last time.”

“Didn’t I?” Percy asked guiltily.

Mom laughed. “It’s fine, sweetie. Why don’t you and your sister go get some ice cream? I’ll clean up here.”

Jade perked up. “Ice cream?” she asked eagerly.

Percy laughed. “Oh, _that_ she heard. Come on, there's a vendor over there,” he said, getting up from the bench.

They walked over - just a few yards, Jade thought - and ordered. She was happy that they had stracciatella, which was her favorite, and Percy happily ordered chocolate. As they waited, though, she could feel Percy growing tense beside her. “What's wrong?” she asked in a whisper.

“Nothing, just… Those cops keep staring at- crap, don't move,” he hissed, a hand clamping down on her elbow.

“Aw! What-?”

“Excuse me, miss, are you Jade Benson?” a deep voice asked.

Jade felt panic rise in her throat. She froze, unable to respond or think of a lie.

“She's my sister,” Percy said, though there was a slight edge of hostility in his voice.

Jade gripped her cane like her like depended on it. _‘Go away, go away, go away, go away!’_

 _“_ You're going to need to come with us, miss,” the cop said, like he hadn't even heard Percy.

Jade was about a step away from hyperventilating now, and stepped closer to her brother, letting him shield her. “No, you’ve got the wrong person!” she said, hoping that edge of hysteria was only audible to her.

“We mean you no harm,” another male voice said, this one smoother and a little less low than the other. “We just need to establish if you're Jade Benson, a girl who ran away from her family a while back.”

He was probably just trying to be nice, but when his hand landed on Jade’s shoulder, she freaked out. Wrenching herself away from both the unfamiliar hand and Percy’s grip on her elbow, she tried to back away. But someone was in her way. “Hey now, missy, calm down,” the deep voice said. The man grabbed her shoulders, and no matter how much she struggled, his large fingers kept her in place.

Somewhere to the side, she could hear another scuffle going on, probably between Percy and the other cop. In her panic, Jade almost didn't notice the pull in her stomach and tingling in her fingers. Abruptly, she recalled the exploding dummy and went limp. However scared she was, she couldn't hurt anyone.

“No! Get your hands off her!” She could hear Percy still struggling with the other cop, and was afraid he’d get arrested or something.

“Percy, stop!” she said. “Go get mom, I’ll be okay!”

The sounds of the scuffle died down. “I’m not leaving you with these creeps,” Percy protested.

“What's going on here?”

Jade would recognize that voice anywhere. “Mom!” she said, and, finally able extricate herself, she launched herself at her mother.

“Is this your daughter, ma’am?” deep voice asked.

“She is, and you had better never lay your hands on her again, you understand?” mom replied coldly.

Jade had never known her mom to be anything but warm and loving, and the chilly tone of voice made her glad that she wasn’t the one mom was angry at.

“There is a warrant out for a Jade Benson,” smooth voice said. There was a rustling of paper, and Jade felt her heart sink. It was probably a picture or a warrant for her arrest or something.

“Honey, I think we should accompany these gentlemen to the police station,” mom said after a measured pause.

Percy and Jade started protesting at the same time, their arguments melding together.

“We need to sort this out,” mom reasoned calmly. The twins quieted down, but Jade scowled, making it obvious she wasn’t happy about this. “Trust me,” mom whispered, too quiet for anyone but Jade to hear.

After a moment of hesitation, Jade nodded. Off to the police station they went.

/*/

Mom talked to a detective for a very long time, but neither Jade nor Percy were allowed to listen in. They weren’t even allowed to stay together. Jade sat in an interrogation room, arms crossed and glaring.

Another cop sat in front of her. They hadn’t said anything, so Jade didn’t even know if they were a guy or a woman.

“Can I get you anything?” they asked eventually. It was definitely a woman, though her voice was lower than most.

Instead of answering, Jade just upped her glare. When it became obvious that the cop actually wanted an answer, though, she decided asking wouldn’t hurt. “How about my brother or my mom?” she asked as snidely as possible.

The cop sighed. “I’m sorry, Jade, I can’t do that. What I _can_ do is tell you what I know.”

Jade went back to ignoring her and glaring at nothing.

“We ran your prints, so we know that you are, in fact, Jade Benson. We also know that you broke into a storage facility a few weeks ago with the help of some other people.”

Careful not to show anything, Jade turned her head away from the voice. Staring at nothing over her left shoulder was just as interesting as staring at nothing straight ahead.

“And now we’ve finally found you, blinded by some kind of accident, and claiming to have found your birth mother. You can see how this looks.”

Jade didn’t even try to fight the urge to roll her eyes. “No, actually, I can’t _see_ much of anything,” she sniped.

She heard the sound of nervous fidgeting. Who was this, some kind of rookie? “Sorry, wrong choice of words. We just want the best for you. Your foster mother was quite worried-”

Letting out a disbelieving bark of laughter, Jade finally turned back. “‘ _What’s best for me’_?” she repeated incredulously. “Did you care when I was sleeping on the floor of a closet at the Frederickson’s? Did anyone bother to come check up on me when the Leigh’s only fed me once a day?” she snapped. Then she let out a bitter laugh. “And now you’re telling me my foster mom _missed_ me. Do you even know why I ran?”

The cop remained stonily silent. It seemed she wasn’t quite as much of rookie as she’d originally thought. “Why don’t you tell me?” the cop asked.

But Jade wasn’t planning on giving away anything else. “I want to see my family. You can’t interview me without a legal guardian or parent present,” she said, remembering hearing something like that on TV once.

“We’re just having a chat here, aren’t we?”

Jade rolled her eyes at the obvious bending of the law.

“Besides, we can’t be sure that the woman out there is your biological mother, and until we can, my superiors have decided to maintain a distance between you two.”

 _That_ caught Jade’s attention. “You can’t do that!” she shouted. “She’s my mom, she’s-” Her throat felt raw all of a sudden, and Jade could feel tears burning behind her eyes. “Get out!” she screamed. “Get out!”

Fortunately, either the cop didn’t have anything more to say, or decided to humor her, and left the room. For all Jade knew, there could be a two-way mirror in there somewhere, but at that moment, she didn’t care. She pulled her knees up onto the chair and wrapped her arms around them, letting her tears fall onto her knees. It was happening again. Everyone always left, and just as she was starting to feel at home with Percy and their mom, they would be torn apart again. They were leaving her again.

Suddenly, the door opened, and she could hear a familiar tread on the floor. Before Percy could even say anything, Jade was off the chair and burying her head in his neck. “Don’t let them take me away,” she whispered.

Percy’s arms crossed around her, holding on tightly. “No way,” he whispered back. “I promise they won’t touch you.”

If only she could be sure that he’d keep that promise…


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally another chapter, sorry for the wait!

**Chapter 13:**

_12 August_

Percy refused to leave her side for the rest of the day. And that’s about as long as they spent in that place. Two other detectives came to interview her. They asked about her various foster homes - they were both quick to point out that she’d had 10 different families over the past 7 years - and about her injury. Luckily, the Mist had done it’s job, because when Jade mentioned the exploded fountain in Central Park, they both mentioned hearing about it.

But there were still some holes in her story. She’d told them that Percy had found her, and that she hadn’t thought she’s been that injured, so she’d told him not to take her to the hospital. In her story, Chiron doubled as a retired doctor who was a family friend of the Jacksons’, and Camp Half-Blood was now his estate. Percy wasn’t allowed to say anything, but he held her hand throughout the whole thing, never even mentioning his probably bruised fingers.

But the interviews were the easy part; she’d perfected her ability to lie during her foster care years. It was when her foster parents showed up that things got really bad.

Jade was still sitting in the interrogation room with Percy, when the door opened. The detective from earlier entered first - his shoes were squeaky - followed by someone in heels.

“Here she is, mrs. Leigh,” the detective said.

Jade felt her throat close up. They’d called her foster mom? Why would Janet even come? She hated Jade with as much passion as Jade hated the bitter woman. She quickly grabbed Percy’s hand again, squeezing hard.

“Jade, sweetie, I was so worried!” Janet’s overly sweet voice washed over Jade, and she had to resist the urge to shudder. Here was a woman who couldn’t care less if the children under her care starved or were beaten to death, so long as she didn’t have to do anything - and here she was, putting on an act.

Jade turned to where she thought the detective was. “Get her away from me,” she ground out. She’d told the man that she’d struggled in her last foster home - more than in the others - and that she wouldn’t go back even if her life depended on it. Apparently, the man was a poor listener.

“Oh, darling, don’t be like that. I know we’ve had our differences, but you’ve no idea what it was like, not knowing where you were or if you were getting food-”

Jade let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, _now_ you care if I’m being fed? You never cared before,” she snapped, putting as much venom in her voice as she could muster. Once again, she could feel her fingers tingling and wrenched her hand away from Percy, scared that she might harm him if she didn’t get control over her powers.

“You have a very active imagination, sweetheart,” Janet said, an icy tone sneaking into her voice. “But you can keep your stories for campfire night.”

The Leighs had a firepit in their backyard, and once a month, they made all their foster kids - when Jade lived there, there were 3 of them - sit around the ‘campfire’ and pretend to be normal. Jade figured it was mostly so their nosy neighbours would think they were good parents, but she didn’t care. She’d never said a word at ‘campfire night’.

Jade stayed stubbornly silent, crossing her arms in front of her.

“Where’s our mom?” Percy asked. He was probably just trying to change the subject, but Jade could hear the strain in his voice, too. They’d been cooped up in here too long already, and the stress of the situation wasn’t helping.

“She’s donating a DNA sample, which we’ll rush to the lab. Which reminds me that you’ll have to give us one as well,” the detective said. Jade heard his squeaky shoes on the linoleum, moving closer to her. “Open your mouth please?”

Jade hesitated, but Percy’s hand landed on her shoulder, and she relaxed a little. She opened her mouth and fought back a flinch when she felt the swab touch the inside of her cheek. A second later, it was gone.

“Thank you, Jade,” the detective said, and it was the first time he’d sounded sincere. Maybe he wasn’t so bad. “There’ll be an emergency hearing at 9 tomorrow. A judge will decide what’s going to happen from there on out,” he explained.

She heard his squeaky shoes retreat to the door, and then she and Percy were alone with Janet. Her mood soured again.

“Grab your things, _darling_ , we’re going home,” Janet said, the sarcasm dripping off the endearment.

Jade glared and got up from the table. “I’m not your _anything_ , and home is with my mom and my brother,” she spat, backing up a step.

“These people aren’t your family, Jade, I am,” she said, her voice practically dripping with insincerity.

She could sense Percy moving and opened her Sight to see him standing between her and Janet. “Get away from her,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. It was easy to hear the ocean’s rage in his voice, like a true son of Poseidon.

Janet didn’t reply right away, and Jade got the distinct impression that the woman was just a little bit afraid. Good. “Step aside, young man, or I’ll have to call the nice policeman in here again,” Janet said, the threat obvious.

The thought of Percy getting in trouble because he was standing up for her was something she couldn’t allow, though, so Jade put her hand on his arm. “Perce, it’s okay,” she said softly. “I’ve survived it before, what’s one more night, right?”

Percy was tense under her fingers, but it seemed he didn’t really know what to do in this situation either. Turning to her, he pulled her into a fierce hug, surprising her. “I’ll call Camp, we’ll get this sorted out in no time, I promise,” he whispered.

Jade could feel tears burning behind her eyes, but if she let them fall now, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stop. So she just nodded and pulled back, grabbing her cane and holding on tight. “I’ll be fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

And with that, she followed Janet out of the interrogation room, the other woman’s hand a vice on her shoulder. Jade would have given everything in that moment to just be home with her mom and brother, sitting on the couch. Instead, she was headed for something much, much worse.

/*/

Arriving back at the house was like looking back at a nightmare when you’re wide awake. You know it shouldn’t be that scary, but it still feels terrifying. Janet didn’t say a word, but Jade could feel her eyes on her back.

The house was silent, as it so often was back when she still lived there. It was an unnatural silence, especially considering that children lived there. I used both my cane and my Sight to navigate, but I could only see a tiny, lifeless Spark that represented Janet, and two other Sparks in a neighbouring room. So there were others here. Jade vaguely wondered if she knew them, but dismissed the thought. It didn’t matter. Before long, she’d be back with her mother and brother. She said as much to Janet - partly out of sheer spite, and partly because saying it out loud made it more real.

Obviously, I didn’t see the slap coming.

My cheek stung, and tears sprung to my eyes, but I refused to cry out. I turned my sightless eyes onto her - I’ve been told that it’s an unnerving sight - and glared. “Touch me again, and I’ll show you how much I take after my father,” I said in a low voice.

“And who was he? A lowlife drunk or a criminal?” Janet asked snidely.

Jade smirked. “Someone you don’t want to mess with.” She knew that the chances of Poseidon showing up to teach her foster mother a lesson - or put the fear of the Gods in her - were slim, but the thought cheered her up immensely. So she turned on her heel and navigated towards the other Sparks she’d seen. Time to meet the rest of the ‘fam’.

/*/

“This isn’t fair!”

Mom sighed as Percy paced the kitchen. “There’s nothing we can do until the DNA results come in,” she said, though she sounded as worried as he felt. “Though I’m not sure if it’s even going to look normal, considering you’re half-Gods.”

Percy stopped and considered this. He had no idea how DNA worked in regular people, never mind what it would look like for demigods. He wished Annabeth were here, she’d probably have some clever plan or something. “I don’t know…”

“I wish you could have cell phones,” mom muttered.

Running a hand through his hair, he sat down next to her at the table. “Yeah, that’d come in handy, but it would also attract every monster in a 100 mile radius.” He hated feeling so helpless. He was used to swinging his sword or outthinking a monster to solve his problems. Dealing with the real world was a whole other matter, and one that he’d have to defer to his mother for.

“I wish your father were here,” mom whispered. Percy was pretty sure she didn’t mean for him to hear it, so he ignored it. But he did share the sentiment. It was moments like this that he thought he could understand why Luke defected. If the Gods were so powerful, how come they couldn’t even help their own children?

Regardless of that, there was nothing they could do. Nothing but wait.

/*/

Turns out there were 2 girls and 1 boy at the Leigh’s house. The boy and one of the girls were significantly younger than Jade, but the other girl was 11.

“Did you really escape?” the young boy - Tommy - whispered, sounding awed.

Jade couldn’t help the small quirk of her lips. The near hero-worship was definitely new for her. “I ran away, yeah. I ended up in Central Park and ran into my real brother, though I didn’t know that at the time,” she explained.

“What happened then?” the other young girl - Felicia - asked. The two young ones were still somewhat awed by the world, still hoped that their families would save them from their fate, but the 11 year-old - Lindsey - was already a lot more bitter.

“He took me to a summer camp, where a doctor checked me over, and then we just had fun. Eventually, I met his mom and we figured out that I was her long-lost daughter.”

“Just like a fairytale,” Felicia sighed dreamily.

Lindsey snorted. “Yeah right. The police will find out that those people are nothing but frauds and that they only wanted to use her.”

“That’s not true!” Jade protested. “Just because you don’t believe in miracles anymore, doesn’t mean they’re not possible.” It was perhaps a little petty of her, but she was tired of people claiming to know her family better than her.

“Whatever,” Lindsey muttered and moved. A second later, Jade heard a bed creak, and knew that she must’ve gone to bed, even though it couldn’t be that late yet.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Tommy said. Right, he was probably too young to read clocks yet.

“The little hand is almost at the 8,” Felicia said proudly.

Jade grinned at her enthusiasm. “Where’s the big hand?” she asked.

There was some rustling; Jade firgured that Felicia had gone to the clock to check.

“You’re not supposed to touch it!” Tommy whispered, inching closer to Jade’s side. She put a comforting arm around his shoulders. Janet was a horrible foster mom, and she wanted to shield these little ones from her for as long as she could. It was sad that they were already this scared, since they’d only been with Janet for a few months, but that was the horrible reality of foster care. You either lucked out with a good one or you got a bad one. These kids just hadn’t been lucky.

Jade had told a teacher once; that Janet locked them in their rooms at night, that they were sometimes forbidden from using the bathroom, and were then made to clean themselves up when they inevitably soiled themselves. The teacher had been mildly concerned and had called child protective services, but had also warned Janet. After the social worker had come by to see that nothing was amiss - Janet was good at covering her tracks - Jade hadn’t been able to sit for 2 days from the spanking she’d received. Janet usually didn’t lay hands on her foster kids, but she figured Jade would learn better that way, just this once. _Freaks_ didn’t deserve any better.

The teacher had told Jade off for making up stories and had said that she ought to be grateful to JaneT. Jade had never spoken to that teacher again.

“The big hand is a little bit further than the 7, but not at the 8 yet,” Felicia said, startling Jade from her memories.

“Thanks, Felicia,” Jade said. The little girl came back to sit at her side.

“I’m hungry,” she said. Jade fought back a glare, not wanting little Felicia to think she was mad at her. Janet hadn’t been too happy at the warm welcome Jade had received, and even less so when Jade had defended the little ones. She’d locked them in the room without food.

“I’ll go get you something,” Jade whispered and felt her way over to the window.

“They’re locked with padlocks, you can’t get out that way,” Lindsey said, clearly annoyed.

“I lived here before, remember?” Jade said, and proceeded to ignore the girl. “The padlock on this window is rusty, give it a few good pushes, and…” The locked jumped open. Jade grinned and pulled it off. “Just wait here for me and be quiet,” she whispered, before shimmying out the small opening the window provided. She wouldn’t let anyone else down.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhm... hi?   
> So, I know it's been ridiculously long since I last updated *goes to check* Crap, since April 2017?? Yeah, that's bad... I'm really sorry, especially since this chapter is kind of... filler, at least for the second part of it. The next one will have a significant time jump and will cover most of the events leading up to the next book, at which point we'll *finally* be getting some more action!
> 
> Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

**Chapter 14:**

It took a week. An agonizing, terrible week, in which none of the Gods answered her prayers, not even her dad. 

Her birthday - her  _ real  _  birthday, the one she shared with Percy - had come and gone with nothing to mark its passage. Not that she wasn’t used to her birthdays being nothing special, but this year it was particularly painful. She finally had someone to celebrate it with, she finally had people who cared… and now they were separated.

The little ones continued their near-hero worship, which was getting more uncomfortable by the moment. But at least Lindsey was warming up to her. Not that the other girl said anything, but it was the little gestures that were telling. The way Lindsey turned around to face them when Jade was telling them stories. The way she always decided to sit on Jade’s left, and always made sure to describe in great detail what her plate looked like. It was something not a lot of people realized, but eating was sometimes problematic if Jade had no idea what was on it. At Camp, she’d been able to see it, due to her Sight, and at home, her mom had always told her. The first time Lindsey had done it, Jade had originally thought the other girl was merely complaining under her breath, but it soon became clear that that’s not what she was doing. It was kind of sweet, especially since Jade could still feel her scowl on her sometimes.

But then, after a week, salvation came, in the form of a social worker. The lady had on too much perfume, but at least she didn’t talk to Jade like she was a baby.

Jade was told that she was going to a trial, where a judge would decide whether she was to be reunited with her mother and brother or not. She was given a dress to wear - which she thought was far too cumbersome with her cane, but at least it was a short dress. And it was light, which was a blessing in the August heat.

“It probably won’t take too long, since the DNA test is the main evidence, though the judge will want to look at Mrs. Jackson’s history with Percy and his own behavioral issues, if there are any,” the social worker said as she lead Jade gently up some steps and into an air conditioned building. 

There was a lot of bustling, but not many people were talking, so Jade figured they’d arrived at the courthouse. She kept her cane close to her body, relying on the social worker instead, as she didn’t want to trip anyone up. 

“I’m assigned to your case, so whichever way this trial goes, I’ll be checking up on you from time to time,” the woman said, and Jade could hear the gentle tone, and imagined she was smiling. 

“Does that mean you check up on foster families, too?” Jade asked. Her thoughts had been on the little ones ever since she’d left the Leigh’s home. They’d been distraught to see her go, and Jade couldn’t help but feel guilty for leaving them with a horrible woman like Janet. But perhaps there was something she could do. 

“I go on routine and unscheduled checks with a number of foster families, yes. Why do you ask?” the woman - what was her name again? - sounding surprised.

“Janet isn’t the great mom she pretends to be,” Jade said. “She padlocked the fridge door and often sends us to bed without food. There’s even padlocks on the windows. And I don’t know how, but she always knows when the surprise checks are, so she makes sure that everything looks great and that the kids are all on their best behavior. She screams at the little ones, and makes us all feel like we’re nothing… She called me a freak more often than she used my name.”

The social worker was silent, probably shocked at the revelation, but Jade just felt numb. She’d had to endure Janet’s madness for so long that it didn’t bother her that much anymore, especially now that she’d found her own family, and knew that they loved her. But the little ones… and Lindsey wouldn’t last that much longer.

Before the woman could reply, a bailiff came to get Jade and escorted her inside.  _ Time to see what the future holds. _

/*/

The hearing was over more quickly than she’d thought it would be. Mom was there, as was Percy and even Chiron. Jade’d had to shut off her Sight when she noticed the brightly shining wheelchair, for fear of developing a headache. The lawyers duly went over the evidence provided - most pointed straight to Sally being Jade’s mom - but the real clincher was the DNA test. It proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jade was truly a Jackson.

And before she knew it, Jade was standing on the steps of the courthouse, her mother’s arms around her as Percy cheered. 

“So how does it feel to be a Jackson?” Chiron asked.

Jade grinned. “Perfect! Although I have to admit that ‘Jade Jackson’ is a little too much alliteration for my tastes.”

“Well, officially, your name is Penelope Jackson,” mom said. 

For some reason, that surprised Jade. It shouldn’t have, because she’d already figured out that Jade wasn’t her birth name, but hearing it like that… “Penelope,” she whispered. It was a cool name, but it was weird thinking of it as hers.

“Penny for short,” mom said, sliding an arm around her shoulders again. “We’ll have to go change your name anyway, seeing as how you’re still called Jade Benson. You can decide what you want to be called then.”

“And on that note, I must leave you, the Camp needs to be seen to, and I’d like to get out of this bloody wheelchair,” Chiron joked. 

They all said goodbye, and then the Jacksons headed home. 

Home.

The thought that she had a home again - permanently this time - made Jade smile. She had a mother and a brother, and friends at Camp who cared about her. Life really couldn’t get any better. Well, she could get her eyesight back, and her mom could get a sudden and unexpected inheritance or something, but you can’t have everything.

On the way home, everyone was in high spirits. Mom kept touching Jade’s hair, like she was scared she was going to disappear again, and Percy just sat close by, but Jade was fairly certain that he was grinning from ear to ear the whole time. 

When they finally got back to the tiny apartment they shared, there was a surprise waiting for them on the curb. 

“Brother!” a loud voice boomed, and Jade immediately turned on her Sight. The creature was well-defined, but not as blinding as Gods or ancient beings like Chiron. No, this was a cyclops, and judging by his first words, it was the infamous Tyson. 

Percy grunted. “Tyson, not so tight!” he said, though there was laughter in his voice. Tyson must have hugged him. 

“Hello Tyson,” mom said with affection. She clearly liked the cyclops, too.

Jade didn’t really know how to feel about this. Technically, Tyson was her little brother, but he was also technically a monster. Percy and Annabeth liked him a lot, she knew, and they insisted that he was harmless - to the good guys anyway. And that had been easy to accept when he was just some faraway relative that she wouldn’t have to deal with. But now he was in front of her, and Jade felt a little… lost. 

“Sister!” Tyson yelled, and before she knew what was going on, Jade was being lifted off the ground by two strong arms.

Jade gasped. She’d been so focussed on her thoughts that she hadn’t been paying attention to her Sight, and the sudden change left her dizzy. And scared. She wasn’t in control anymore, and it frightened her. “Tyson, put me down! Please!”

Far more gently than she would have expected of a giant monster like Tyson, Jade was put down, and she immediately took a step back. 

“Jade, you okay?” Percy asked. “He didn’t mean to frighten you, he’s just friendly.”

Now that she was back on solid ground, her reaction seemed way over the top, and Jade mentally rolled her eyes at herself. “I’m sorry for shouting, Tyson, but I’m blind, I can’t see it coming if you pick me up like that.”

“Blind?” Tyson repeated hesitantly. 

“She had an accident, Tyson, she can’t see,” mom explained.

As Tyson mulled this over, Percy decided to take charge. “Maybe we should go inside?” Then he grinned. “We’ve got a surprise for you.”

“For me?” Jade asked, confused. 

Mom gently put an arm around her shoulders and guided her inside. “You’ll see,” she said teasingly. 

/*/

The surprise turned out to be some of her friends from Camp coming over and having an impromptu party, with almost all blue food - or so she was told. It was a family tradition, and with the seeing outnumbering the blind, she could forgive them for it. 

It was really nice meeting Katie, Will and even Thalia again, if a little surreal. 

“So, us being here wasn’t the full surprise,” Katie said after they’d all gotten something to eat. 

Jade frowned. “What do you mean? This is awesome, what else would I want?”

Someone slung an arm around her shoulders. “Well, if you don’t want your present, we can always take it back,” Will teased, squeezing her shoulder. 

“No, no, no, I’m good!” she replied quickly, grinning.

“Here,” Thalia said, only slightly gruffly, as she gently took Jade’s hand and put a parcel in it. 

It was was bigger than she’d expected, but Jade wasted no time in pulling off the wrapping paper. “You know wrapping something for a blind person kind of defeats the purpose, right?” she teased, even as she ran her hands over the box.

Suddenly, her fingers brushed over an irregular pattern. “Is that…?” It felt like braille, but-

“Here,” Percy said, clearly holding in a chuckle. “You’re holding it upside down.”

And then the braille made sense. “Monopoly?” Jade asked as she ‘read’ the title. 

“Yeah,” Will said, pulling his arm from around her shoulders - it was a little colder suddenly - and grabbing the box. “Come on, let’s try this!”

It was… weird playing a game she’d played a hundred times without ever actually seeing it. The board was made of plastic and had raised edges on the squares. There was braille everywhere, of course, even on the money. It was a lot more fun than Jade had thought. The only downside was that she had to play a little slower, because she had to take time to feel her way around the board and read all the braille. Thankfully, no one got impatient and tried to help her; that would have been more frustrating than anything else. 

Eventually, though, everyone had to leave. Argus had come to pick them all up. It was never a good idea for so many demigods to be in the same place for long. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll see you soon!” Katie said as she embraced her. 

“Yeah, you’re not getting rid of us that easily,” Will agreed, stepping in and claiming his own hug. 

“See you around, kid,” Thalia said, a slight edge of affection in her tone, once Will had let go.

Jade grinned at them. “Thanks you guys. I promise I won’t be a stranger at camp.”

They all promised to meet up again soon and keep in touch via Iris messages before the other 3 demigods left. 

“Come on,” Percy said, a smile in his voice as he put an arm over her shoulder. 

“Come where?” Jade asked, a little suspiciously. 

“Come get your crap out of my room. You’re sharing with mom now, and I want my space back,” he teased. 

Jade knew he didn’t really want to kick her out, so she just rolled her eyes at him. “If you were scared about me finding that picture of Annabeth you have, I already did. Katie told me what was on it,” she teased right back.

She expected him to deny that he had any such picture, but when he froze and started sputtering, she couldn’t hold back her laugh. “Oh my Gods, I was kidding! Do you actually have a picture of Annabeth?” she exclaimed. 

Percy, probably red as a tomato, moved his arm from her shoulders to her neck and gave her a noogie. “Shut up, you brat, I’m your big brother!”

“You’re a dork!” She shouted through her laughter. “Let me go!”

“Kids, keep it down,” mom shouted from where she stood in the kitchen, but it was clear from her tone that she was more amused than anything.

Percy and Jade both froze. “We’re not doing anything,” Percy said innocently. 

“Yeah,” Jade agreed. “Percy’s just being his usual dorky self, insisting that he doesn’t have a crush on Annabeth,” she said, and quickly twisted out of his hold when he tensed up. 

“I hate you!” he shouted after her even as she dashed into their previously shared room.

“Love you too, big bro!”


End file.
